Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – With its place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament already secure, the Manhattan College softball team was playing for seeding on Sunday in its final MAAC doubleheader of the regular season. The Jaspers (22-27, 10-10 MAAC) suffered an 8-7 loss in the first game, then Monmouth (21-19, 12-8 MAAC) clinched the No. 5 seed with a 4-2 victory in the nightcap at MU Softball Park. Manhattan will be the No. 6 seed in the MAAC Tournament.
After each side went down in order in the first inning of game one, the Jaspers erupted for six runs in the top of the second. Andi Stallard (Katy, Texas) drew a walk leading off the inning and moved to second on Sydney Weedon's (Santa Ana, Calif.) sacrifice bunt before scoring on an RBI single by Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, N.Y.). Manhattan loaded the bases on an error and a hit batsman, then Emily Cutler (Bloomingdale, N.J.) walked to force in a run. Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) followed with a single up the middle that plated two, increasing the Jaspers' advantage to 4-0. Manhattan wasn't done, though, as Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) walked to load the bases for Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, Conn.), who responded with a two-run single to left field.
However, the Hawks got it all back in the bottom of the third. After a leadoff double by Raelynn Galindo, four walks and a hit batsman led to three Monmouth runs and chased Bowen from the circle. After an RBI single by Rachel Shotzbarger made it 6-4, Kayleena Flores and Jill Freese each walked with the bases loaded. The free pass to Freese (her second walk of the inning) knotted the score at 6-6.
It would remain deadlocked until the bottom of the sixth, when Monmouth took the lead with a pair of runs. Galindo was hit by a pitch leading off the inning, and Freese followed with a walk. After Shannon Fitzgerald bunted the runners over, Galindo came across on pinch hitter Kaitie Schumacher's sacrifice fly. The Hawks added another one on Vanessa Cardoza's single to left, but Alicia DeSanto was gunned down trying to score from second on the play, ending the inning.
Manhattan wouldn't go down quietly, though. The Jaspers put the tying run on base immediately, as Stallard led off the top of the seventh with a walk and Weedon followed with a single. With two out, Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) ripped a single down the right field line that knocked in one and moved the tying run to third. However, pinch hitter Anna Crowley (Eastchester, N.Y.) grounded out to end the game, as Monmouth held on for an 8-7 victory in the first-ever MAAC meeting between the schools.
Bowen was the only Jasper with a multi-hit effort in game one. She finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Vazquez went 1-for-4 with two RBIs, while Reinhardt was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Bright and Cutler each added a run and an RBI. Bowen tossed the first 2.1 innings in the circle and only gave up one hit. However, she also walked five and was charged with five runs. Bowen recorded a strikeout, as well. Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, N.Y.) (3-5) took the loss in relief. She yielded three runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts over 3.2 innings of work.
The Hawks collected only four hits, but were the beneficiaries of seven walks. Cardoza went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs, while DeSanto was 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Despite not recording an official at-bat, Freese scored twice and knocked in a run. Starting pitcher Sydney Underhill lasted three innings. She allowed six runs (five earned) on three hits, walked four and struck out one. Breanna Sniffen (4-6) earned the win after surrendering just one run on four hits with two walks and a strikeout in four innings.
In the second inning of game two, the Jaspers took advantage of Monmouth miscues to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Stallard walked leading off the inning and beat the throw to second on Bright's bunt. Reinhardt followed with another attempted sacrifice, except Underhill overthrew first base and Stallard came around to score. Bright moved to third on the play, and she scurried home on a wild pitch with two outs.
Monmouth cut its deficit in half on Galindo's RBI single in the second, then took the lead on a three-run homer by Schumacher in the sixth. Bowman started the seventh inning with a walk, but was doubled-off when Vazquez followed with a line drive to second. Stallard then flied to left, giving the Hawks a doubleheader sweep with a 4-2 win.
Bowman's fifth-inning double was one of just three hits in the game for Manhattan. The only other Jasper hits were singles by Reinhardt and Crowley in the sixth. Stallard and Bright scored the two Manhattan runs, and Bright (8-15) also pitched all six innings. She allowed four runs on six hits, struck out five and walked two.
For Monmouth, which tallied six hits in the game, Schumacher's three-run blast was the only extra-base hit. Galindo went 1-for-2 with a RBI, while Shotzbarger and Flores each had a hit and scored a run. Underhill (17-13), who started both ends of the twinbill, went the distance in game two. She held the Jaspers to two runs (one earned) on three hits, struck out six and walked six.
The Jaspers will take on third-seeded Iona (20-21, 14-6 MAAC) in the opening game of the MAAC Tournament at 12 p.m. on Wednesday from Fairfield's Alumni Softball Field. The winner of that game will take on the host Stags (20-20, 15-5 MAAC), the No. 2 seed, at 9 a.m. on Thursday. The loser will play at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday in an elimination contest.
