Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – In each of the past two seasons, the Manhattan College was scheduled to play Hartford in its home opener, only to have the weather intervene. That was no such problem on Tuesday, as the conditions were beautiful at Gaelic Park. And the Jaspers took advantage of their early opportunity to play at home, taking both ends of the doubleheader. Manhattan (4-3) won the first game by a 5-4 count before notching a 9-2 triumph over the Hawks (1-10) in the nightcap.
The Jaspers used four consecutive singles in the first inning of game one to take an early 2-0 lead. Hartford then moved in front with three unearned tallies in the third. The Hawks scored their first run on a Manhattan error, and added two more when a two-out popup to short landed for a double. An RBI single by Jenice Aloyo in the top of the sixth increased Hartford's advantage to 4-2.
Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY) doubled to left center leading off the bottom of the sixth, then stole third. Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, NY) followed with an RBI single to left that made it 4-3. There were two Hartford errors on the play, allowing Reinhardt to come across with the tying run. After Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) ripped a triple to left, Emily Cutler (Bloomingdale, NJ) lifted a fly ball to center to give Manhattan the lead. Matazinsky, who entered in the fifth, then shut the Hawks down in the seventh to lock down the 5-4 victory.
Alexa Dawid (Milford, CT), Lauren Pitney (Ansonia, CT) and Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, CT) all had two hits in game one, as Manhattan recorded 11 hits as a team. Reinhardt went 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI, while Elena Bowman (San Mateo, CA) went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Stephanie Kristo (San Jose, CA) got the start in the circle and lasted four innings. She allowed three unearned runs on six hits, struck out two and walked two. Matazinsky (1-0) earned the win after giving up one run on four hits with four strikeouts over three innings of work.
Elizabeth Newkirk went 2-for-2 with two RBIs for Hartford. Peyton Fisher finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Kyile Dazzala was 2-for-3 in game one. Bianca Ross (0-4) tossed all six innings in the circle, yielding five runs on 11 hits while striking out three and walking one.
Hartford scored twice in the top of the first in game two, but the Jaspers countered with a two-spot in the bottom of the second. Matazinsky started the rally with an infield single, then Reinhardt singled to left. After the runners stole second and third, Matazinsky scored on a wild pitch. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Cutler tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
Cutler was at the heard of another Manhattan rally in the bottom of the fourth. She roped a one-out single to center and scored on a base hit by Pitney. Matazinsky made it 4-2 in the fifth when she led off the inning with a solo home run to deep center.
After Hartford put the tying run on base with one out in the top of the sixth, Erin Hamm (Collegeville, PA) entered the game in relief of Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, NJ) and struck out two of the three Hawks she faced to get Manhattan out of the jam. The Jaspers then broke the game open with a five-spot in the bottom half of the inning. Dawid started the rally with an infield single, then Pitney just missed a two-run homer, crushing an RBI double off the top of the wall in right field. Bowman walked and Vazquez singled to load the bases before Matazinsky drew a walk to force in a run. Zee Pierce (Bronx, NY) then knocked in a pair of runs with a double to center, and Victoria Ross (Bloomfield, NJ) followed with a sacrifice fly to center that made it 9-2.
Manhattan collected 12 hits in game two, with Dawid, Pitney, Vazquez and Matazinsky all recording two hits. Pitney drove in two runs and scored another, while Matazinsky finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Pierce also posted two RBIs, and Reinhardt scored twice. Gabriel (1-1) earned the win after giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits with three strikeouts and six walks in 5.1 innings. Hamm went 1.2 scoreless innings of relief to pick up the save. She allowed one hit and one walk while striking out three.
Sawyer Fried had two of Hartford's six hits in the second contest. Fisher went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Jenice Aloyo finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and Danielle DeMarco was 1-for-2 with a run scored. Kelsey Bird (0-3) took the loss after surrendering three runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out one in four innings. Lexi Wilkerson allowed six runs on five hits and two walks over two innings of work.
Up next for Manhattan is the Lady Pirate Classic at Hampton University this weekend. The Jaspers will play four games during the tournament, starting with a matchup against Drexel (3-3) at 1 p.m. on Friday.
