Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
LOUDONVILLE, NY – On Saturday afternoon, the Manhattan College softball team began its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) schedule with a doubleheader at Siena. And the Jaspers (14-8, 2-0 MAAC) opened conference play by sweeping the Saints (12-11, 0-2 MAAC) for the second straight season. Manhattan won the opener by a 6-3 count, then posted a 5-3 victory in game two at Siena Field.
Siena jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of game one, but the Jaspers got one back when Rachael Mumma (Mechanicsburg, PA) scored on a wild pitch in the top of the second. Manhattan then pulled in front with a pair of runs in the third. After a two-out single by Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, CT), Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY) ripped an RBI double to left field. The Siena defense was caught napping on the play, as Matazinsky came around from second to put Manhattan up 3-2.
The Jaspers added three more in the top of the fourth. Mumma drew a leadoff walk and stole second before Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) walked. With two out, three consecutive RBI singles by Alexa Dawid (Milford, CT), Elena Bowman (San Mateo, CA) and Vazquez put Manhattan up 6-2 and chased Siena starter Lauren Butts from the circle. A Brooke Taylor sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth brought the Saints within 6-3, but Matazinsky shut Siena down the rest of the way to finish off the victory.
Matazinsky (3-4) tossed a complete game, yielding three runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out one. She also went 1-for-4 at the plate with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Dawid, Vazquez and Victoria Ross (Bloomfield, NJ) each had two of Manhattan's nine hits in the contest.
Sammy Smaldone, Paige Hess and Alyssa Lancaster tallied two hits apiece for Siena. Lancaster also scored a run and drove in another. Butts took the loss after surrendering six runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks in 3.2 innings. Antonia Edwards allowed two hits, struck out two and walked one in 3.1 innings of shutout relief.
There was a one-hour weather delay due to hail prior to the start of game two. Once the contest began, the Manhattan offense got going immediately, putting up a three-spot in the top of the second. Puthe started the rally with an infield single, then Emily Cutler (Bloomingdale, NJ) singled and Dawid walked to load the bases. That brought up Bowman, and she ripped a two-run single through the right side. Vazquez followed with an RBI single of her own that made it 3-0.
However, the Saints responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Smaldone drew a bases loaded walk, and Lancaster followed with a game-tying two-run double.
It would remain 3-3 until the top of the sixth, when Anna Crowley (Eastchester, NY) led off the inning with a pinch-hit walk. Madison Bailey (Phoenix, AZ) then dropped down a bunt and Puthe walked before Cutler smacked a base hit to left center to break the tie.
After the Jaspers added an insurance tally in the top of the seventh, Siena put the tying run on second with one out in the bottom half of the inning. However, Stephanie Kristo (San Jose, CA) got Chelsey Drew to ground into a game-ending double play, sealing the 5-3 victory and giving Manhattan the doubleheader sweep.
Cutler and Matazinsky both collected two hits and scored a run in game two. Cutler also had the game-winning RBI, while Bowman finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Erin Hamm (Collegeville, PA) started in the circle and went two innings. She allowed three runs on five hits and three walks. Kristo (5-2) earned the win after pitching five innings of one-hit, shutout relief. She walked two Saints in the game.
For Siena, Smaldone finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Lancaster went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Loryn DeFalco and Melanie Kalesse were each 1-for-3 with a run scored. Starting pitcher Danielle Cacciola tossed 1.2 innings. She surrendered three runs on five hits, struck out two and walked two. Butts (6-5) suffered her second loss of the day after yielding two runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Edwards entered in the seventh and struck out both batters she faced.
Manhattan was originally scheduled to face defending MAAC champion Fairfield (10-12, 0-0 MAAC) at Gaelic Park on Sunday. However, with inclement weather in the forecast, that doubleheader has been postponed until Tuesday at 2 p.m.
