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Box Score 2 Manhattan-Harvard Box Score
Manhattan-Stony Brook Box Score
MADEIRA BEACH, FL – Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY) threw a two-hit shutout and added the offense with an RBI single, as the Manhattan College softball team began its 2017 campaign with a 1-0 victory over Harvard (0-1) at the EMU Madeira Beach Invitational on Friday. The Jaspers (1-1) dropped their second game of the day, however, as Stony Brook (1-1) earned a 3-1 win at the Madeira Beach Softball Complex.
After Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) led off the Harvard game with a walk, she stole second and moved to third on Christine Gebhardt's (Middletown, NJ) groundout. Matazinsky then ripped a two-out single to right that put the Jaspers in front 1-0. That would prove to be all the offense she needed, as the Crimson didn't get a runner past second base the entire afternoon.
Harvard's only real scoring threat came in the bottom of the fifth when Erin Lockhart drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on Kaitlyn Schiffhauer's two-out single. However, Matazinsky got Rhianna Rich on a groundout to end the threat, and she retired the last seven Crimson hitters in order to complete the shutout, the Jaspers' first season-opening victory since 2011.
Manhattan was held to just three hits in the game, as Puthe and Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, NY) each had a base hit to go with Matazinsky's RBI single. Matazinsky (1-0), who retired 10 straight batters at one point, struck out three and walked two in her shutout victory.
Elizabeth Shively's first-inning double and Schiffhauer's single were Harvard's only hits off Matazinsky. Taylor Cabe (0-1) got the start in the circle and took the loss. She allowed one unearned run on two hits and two walks in four innings. Kathleen Duncan tossed three innings of shutout relief, yielding just one hit and striking out three.
The Jaspers again struck early against Stony Brook. After Kayla McDermott (Garnerville, NY) retired the Seawolves in order in the top of the first, Puthe doubled to lead off the bottom half of the inning. She took third on an error and scored on a passed ball.
It remained that way until the top of the third, when Stony Brook tied the game on Lexie Shue's solo homer. The Seawolves then took a 3-1 lead on Caroline Seeberg's two-run double in the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Manhattan put its first two hitters on, as Gebhardt reached on a bunt single and Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, CT) followed with a base hit to right. However, Stony Brook got the out at third on a pair of ground balls before Reinhardt struck out to end the inning. The Jaspers sent the tying run to the plate after Alexa Dawid's (Milford, CT) two-out double in the seventh, but Puthe grounded out to end the game, as the Seawolves secured a 3-1 victory.
Gebhardt went 2-for-3 with a double, while Puthe finished 1-for-4 with a run scored. Victoria Ross (Bloomfield, NJ) had a second-inning single to go along with Dawid's double and Vazquez's single. McDermott (0-1) took the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits in 5.1 innings of work. She struck out two and walked five. Stephanie Kristo (San Jose, CA) tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless relief, striking out one and walking one while not allowing any hits.
Stony Brook was held to four hits in the contest, three of which went for extra bases. In addition to Seeberg's two-run double and Shue's homer, Katelyn Corr singled and Irene Rivera tripled. Melissa Rahrich (1-0) surrendered an unearned run on six hits with five strikeouts and a walk in a complete game effort.
On Saturday, Manhattan will play a pair of contests. The Jaspers take on Georgetown (1-10) at 11 a.m. and face Loyola Chicago (7-0) at 4 p.m.
