Manhattan, Central Connecticut Split Twinbill

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

RIVERDALE, NY – The Manhattan College softball team began a 10-game homestand with a non-conference doubleheader against Central Connecticut on Saturday afternoon.  The Jaspers (22-12) won the opener by an 8-1 count before the Blue Devils (10-20) rallied to take game two at Gaelic Park, 5-2 in 10 innings.

In game one, the Jaspers struck early, jumping out to a 7-0 lead after two innings.  Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) led off the first with a double, and Alexa Dawid (Milford, CT) followed with an RBI single up the middle.  After a Lauren Pitney (Ansonia, CT) single and a Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY) walk loaded the bases, Kat Prevo (San Diego, CA) delivered a two-run single to put Manhattan up 3-0.

Victoria Ross (Bloomfield, NJ) walked leading off the second and scored on Puthe's second double in as many at-bats.  Puthe then came around from second on Dawid's infield to single to make it 5-0.  Christine Gebhardt (Middletown, NJ) knocked in a run with a single to center, and Prevo picked up another RBI with a sacrifice fly to left that increased the Jaspers' cushion to 7-0.

That was more than enough offense for Stephanie Kristo (San Jose, CA).  She took a no-hitter into the fifth and allowed just four hits all afternoon.  The Blue Devils did put runners on second and third with one out in the fifth, but Kristo induced a fly ball to end the inning and keep Central Connecticut off the scoreboard.

Central Connecticut did get on the board when Kerri Dadalski led off the sixth with a solo homer to center, but Manhattan got that run right back in the bottom half of the inning.  Puthe reached on catcher's interference, stole second, and scored on Maddie Colombo's (Los Gatos, CA) pinch-hit RBI single.  Kristo then finished up the 8-1 triumph in the top of the seventh.

Puthe scored three times in game one.  She finished 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI.  Dawid also went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Prevo was 1-for-3 with three RBIs.  Pitney, meanwhile, ended up 1-for-1 with a walk and two runs scored.  Kristo (3-2) walked three and struck out two in her complete game effort.

Dadalski's homer was the only extra-base hit off Kristo, as singles by Kaleigh Edwards, Tori Constantin and Emily Cronin represented the other Central Connecticut hits in the contest.  Emily Sargent (5-16) went six innings in the circle, yielding eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

After Puthe reached on catcher's interference to start the bottom of the first in game two, Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, CT) drove her in with a double to right center.  The Jaspers made it 2-0 in the fourth when Pitney led off the inning with a single, stole second, moved to third on a base hit by Gebhardt and scored on a wild pitch.  Manhattan had a chance to add to its lead in the fifth, but left the bases loaded.

Brittany McNulla, who drove in Central Connecticut's first run with a fifth-inning single, tied the game in the top of the seventh when she knocked in Alexis Debrosse with a base hit to left.  That put the go-ahead run on first base with one out, but Nicole Williams (Ansonia, CT) struck out Dadalski before getting a fly ball to end the inning.  The Jaspers failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, sending the contest into extra innings even at 2-2.

Neither offense was able to make much noise in extra innings until McNulla led off the 10^th with her fourth single of the game.  After the Blue Devils loaded the bases with one out, Constantin broke the tie with an RBI single to right.  Alicia Bertolino then ripped a single to left that drove in a pair, putting Central Connecticut up 5-2.  Matazinsky kept the Jaspers alive with a two-out single in the bottom of the 10^th, but the next batter, Gebhardt, sent a fly ball to right that was corralled for the final out in the Blue Devils' 5-2 triumph.

Gebhardt had two of the nine Manhattan hits in the contest.  Vazquez went 1-for-4 with an RBI, while Pitney was 1-for-4 with a run scored.  Kayla McDermott (Garnerville, NY) started in the circle and lasted 4.2 innings.  She allowed one run on six hits, struck out two and walked one.  Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, NJ) pitched 1.2 innings of relief, surrendering one run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout.  Williams (5-5) took the loss after yielding three runs on four hits to go along with five strikeouts and a walk in 3.2 innings of work.

For the Blue Devils, McNulla ended up 4-for-5 with two RBIs.  Bertolino finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs, while Constantin went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.  Starting pitcher Alex Casanas gave up two runs (one earned) and four hits while striking out two over four innings.  Sarah Ogilvie (2-3) hurled six innings of shutout relief to earn the win.  She held the Jaspers to five hits and walked six to go along with three strikeouts.