Barrella Leads Manhattan Past LIU Brooklyn

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Brooklyn, NY - Junior Richie Barrella (Larchmont, NY / Canterbury Prep) went 4-for-4 with two runs, a walk and a game-saving catch to lead Manhattan to a 7-6 victory over LIU Brooklyn at the LIU Baseball Field.
 
The Jaspers win for the fifth time in eight games en route to improving to 5-9 on the year while the Blackbirds fall to 7-8.

Manhattan struck first with two runs on three doubles in the first inning. Freshman Will Trochiano (Morganville, NJ / Marlboro) led off the game with a ground rule double in reaching for the 14th-straight game to start his career. Graduate student Matt Forlow (Cold Spring, NY / Haldane) followed with a run-scoring double to open the scoring. Later in the frame, senior Brendan Bisset (New City, NY / Don Bosco Prep (NJ)) doubled home Barrella to cap the scoring.

LIU Brooklyn would get one run back in the bottom part of the frame but was denied a second when Andrew Turner was gunned down at the plate.

In the top of the third inning, the Jaspers plated four runs while batting around. Barrella and Bisset each singled to lead off the frame before graduate student Evan Brown (Asburnham, MA / Bridgton Academy (ME)) was plunked in load the bases with no outs. Sophomore Alex Cerda (Miami, FL / Florida Christian Prep) followed with a RBI single. LIU Brooklyn appeared poised to avoid further damage with back-to-back strikeouts before Trochiano delivered a two-run single and Forlow a RBI double in staking the visitors to a 6-1 advantage.

The Blackbirds quickly responded with four runs in trimming the deficit to 6-5 in the bottom part of the frame.

After both offenses went silent over the next two innings, Manhattan added an insurance run in the sixth as junior Fabian Pena (Miami, FL / Calusa Prep) plated Forlow with a two-out, RBI single. 

LIU Brooklyn got that run back in the top of the seventh and was on the verge of tying the game when Luis Arias hit a line drive to right, only to be denied when Barrella made a leaping catch for the final out of the frame while stranding the tying run in scoring position.

Sophomore RHP T.J. Stuart (Milford, CT / Joseph A. Foran) closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning in notching his second save. Junior RHP Joe DiTorrice (Montgomery, NJ / Montgomery) struck out three while yielding one hit over 3.2 innings in collecting his first career win. 

Sophomore Alexis Calderon (Bethlehem, PA / Liberty) and junior RHP Joe DiNizio (Middlesex, NJ / Middlesex) each also fired scoreless innings of relief as the Jasper bullpen surrendered just two hits, two walks and one unearned run over 6.2 innings.

Forlow and Trochiano each had two hits and two RBI while Bisset added two hits to join Barrella with multiple-hits as the Jaspers rapped out 12 on the afternoon.

Dom Paiotti scored three runs to pace LIU Brooklyn.

Manhattan returns to action at La Salle on Friday, March 16 with first pitch tabbed for 1:00 pm.