Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Playing against her former team for the first time, Anna Crowley (Eastchester, N.Y.) belted a sixth-inning grand slam to lift the Manhattan College softball team (9-16) to a 10-3 victory in the second game of a doubleheader against UMass Lowell (5-18) at Gaelic Park on Saturday afternoon. In game one, the River Hawks used a five-run rally in the top of the seventh to record an 8-5 win.
After Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, N.Y.) was robbed of a grand slam on an amazing catch by UMass Lowell left fielder Abby Jamieson in the first inning of game one, the Jaspers went ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the third when Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, Conn.) crushed her fifth home run of the year, a two-run shot to left center. Andi Stallard (Katy, Texas) followed with a single to center before Reinhardt singled on a ground ball to right. The River Hawks tried to throw Stallard out at third on the play, but the throw went into the dugout, resulting in another Manhattan run.
UMass Lowell got on the board with an unearned run in the fourth, then tied the game with two in the fifth. Leadoff hitter Brianna Martin started the inning with a double, and she was safe at third when the Jaspers went after the lead runner on Ariana Darcy's grounder to third. Jamieson was up next, and she smacked a two-run double to right center.
Manhattan regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Pinch hitter Sydney Weedon (Santa Ana, Calif.) drew a walk and Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) followed with a single before Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) walked to load the bases with one out. Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.) then sent a grounder to short and Bowen was forced out on the play, but a run also scored to give the Jaspers the lead.
However, unusually shaky Manhattan defense would prove costly in the top of the seventh. After a leadoff single, a dropped fly ball put runners on first and second, and Alyssa Zinkiewicz then tied the game with an RBI double. The River Hawks took the lead on Melissa King's RBI single, then, after another run scored on a wild pitch, Tori Alcorn belted a two-run homer to left center that made it 8-4. The Jaspers got one back in the bottom of half of the inning, but were unable to complete the rally and fell by an 8-5 count.
Three different Jaspers had multi-hit efforts in game one. Bowen finished 2-for-4 and Reinhardt went 2-for-3, while Stallard was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, N.J.) started in the circle and went four-plus innings. She gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits, struck out five and walked one. Crowley (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs, only one of which was earned, on five hits with one strikeout in three innings.
The River Hawks out-hit the Jaspers 11-8, with Martin, Jamieson, King and Alcorn all going 2-for-4. Jamieson and Alcorn each drove in a pair of runs. Starting pitcher Marielle Handley tossed five innings, surrendering three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out one and walking three. Erica Armenti (1-5) earned the win in relief after yielding two runs on three hits with two walks and a strikeout over the final two innings.
In game two, the Jaspers jumped in front immediately, as Vazquez knocked in a run with a single down the left field line and Reinhardt drove in another with a double to left center. Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.), meanwhile, was moving right along in the circle. She retired the first 10 River Hawks she faced before a one-out double by Darcy in the fourth.
Bright got a groundout and a popup to end the top of the fourth, then Manhattan put up a four-spot in the bottom half of the inning. The rally started when Crowley reached on a dropped popup. After Reinhardt walked and Mickayla Romero (Las Vegas, Nev.) walked to load the bases with one out, Bright popped up to short. The infield fly rule was immediately called on the play, and Crowley sprinted home when the ball landed on the turf. Bowen was up next, and she brought both Reinhardt and Romero home with a double to the wall in left center. Bowman followed with a single to left that put the Jaspers in front 6-0.
It remained that way until the top of the sixth, when UMass Lowell put three runs on the board. Alcorn started the inning with a single off Bright's glove. She was still on first with two out when Jamieson, after fouling off a number of pitches, won a long battle and belted a deep home run to center field. Emily O'Brien then crushed a solo shot to right, ending Bright's day. Manhattan escaped further trouble, though, when Gabriel came in and struck out Alyssa Zinkiewicz to end the inning.
With their lead cut to three, the Jaspers added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth. After Bowen flied out to start the inning, Bowman walked and Paxson singled. Vazquez then drew a walk to load the bases for Crowley. And the UMass Lowell transfer delivered against her former team, depositing an Armenti pitch beyond the left field fence for a grand slam. The River Hawks were unable to convert a leadoff single into a rally in the top of the seventh, and Manhattan earned a doubleheader split with the 10-3 victory.
Crowley finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs, while Paxson went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Bowman also scored twice, and Bowen ended up 1-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Bright (3-8) earned the win after surrendering three runs and five hits in 5.2 innings. She struck out five and didn't walk a batter. Gabriel allowed a hit and struck out one in 1.1 innings to record her first collegiate save.
The home runs by Jamieson and O'Brien were two of just six hits in the contest for the River Hawks. Lauren Ramirez (1-5) took the loss in the circle. She yielded five runs (two earned) and three hits, struck out four and walked two in 3.2 innings. Handley got UMass Lowell out of the fourth, giving up one run on three hits with a strikeout in 0.1 innings, while Armenti tossed the final two innings. She was charged with four runs, three hits and three walks.
The Jaspers (1-0 MAAC) resume Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play with a visit to defending MAAC champion Marist (7-16, 1-0 MAAC) on Sunday. The twinbill gets underway at 12 p.m.
