Box Score Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF)
Old Westbury, NY - Senior Christian Santisteban's (Miami, FL / Gulliver Prep) two-out, two-run homer lifted Manhattan to a thrilling 6-4 win over NYIT in non-conference action.
The Jaspers scored four runs with two outs in moving to 2-6 on the year while the Bears fall to 4-5.
Manhattan opened the scoring in the top of the third when sophomore Adam Genners (Jacksonville, FL / Stanton College Prep) led off with a triple before crossing the plate on classmate Michael Pfenninger's (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central) RBI ground out.
The Jaspers would add to the lead in the fourth with another run. Santisteban extended his season-opening on-base streak to eight games with a leadoff single before coming in to score on Matt Forlow's (Cold Spring, NY / Haldane) RBI double through the left side.
After threatening in the in the next two innings, NYIT finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth with a pair of runs to tie the game at 2-2.
Manhattan would briefly reclaim the lead in the top of the seventh with a pair of runs thanks to a two-out rally. Freshman Anthony Rocchietti (Green Brook, NJ / Watchung) singled before moving to second on an errant throw. Genners followed with a RBI single before Pfenninger picked him up with run-scoring triple.
NYIT would immediately rally with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.
From that point, junior RHP Shawn Kanwisher (Washington Township, NJ / St. Joseph's Regional) took over on the mound.
The Garden State native struck out the side in the eighth and the ninth before Santisteban's big blast. Kanwisher then closed out his perfect outing with a 1-2-3 10th inning.
Kanwisher fanned a career-high six over 4.0 innings in moving to 1-0 on the year.
Santisteban went 2-for- 5 with a home run, two runs and two RBI to pace an eight-hit Manhattan attack while Genners was 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs and a RBI. Rounding out the top performers at the plate was Pfenninger, who finished up 1-for-4 with a triple and two RBI.
Senior RHP Michael Scarinci (Nanuet, NY / Pearl River) was also solid on the mound with five strikeouts over 2.1 innings of relief of freshman Joe DiNizio (Middlesex, NJ / Middlesex), who fired 3.2 innings of scoreless ball in his first collegiate start.
The Jaspers will return to action at FIU on Friday, March 11 at 6:30 pm.
