Manhattan Set For Home-Opening Series Against Fairfield

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Wappingers Falls, NY - Manhattan (16-16; 5-1 MAAC) opens its 14-game home slate with a key series against league power Fairfield (12-16; 5-4 MAAC), beginning with a Saturday doubleheader at 12:00 pm.
 
Schedule:
Game 1 - Saturday, April 14 - 12:00 pm
Manhattan GS RHP Joe Jacques (1-1; 2.00 ERA; 18.0 IP; 21 K; 4 BB; .400 opp. BA)
Game 2 - Saturday, April 14 - 3:00 pm
Manhattan GS RHP Matt Simonetti (4-1; 3.27 ERA; 41.1 IP; 48 K; 14 BB; .224 opp. BA)
Game 3 - Sunday, April 15 - 11:30 am
TBA

SUNDAY'S GAME TO BE STREAMED ON THE JSN
Graduate Assistant Connor Giblin will bring you all of Sunday's action on the Jasper Sports Network (JSN) for free! Click HERE for the stream.

HOME SWEET HOME
After playing 32 games on the road to start the season, Manhattan will play 14 of its final 21 games at Dutchess Stadium.
 
TOPS IN THE NATION
The Jaspers' 16 road victories are tied with Kent State for the most in the nation. 
 
RPI
According to the official NCAA RPI rankings, Manhattan is the top-ranked MAAC team, checking in at 141.

HOW YOU DOING?
This weekend's games will mark a reunion of sort for Head Coach Mike Cole as the first-year Manhattan skipper spent the last five years as an assistant for Fairfield and Head Coach Bill Currier.

CAPE COD REUNION
Junior Fabian Pena an Fairfield's John Signore played this past summer together for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod League while Stag catcher Kevin Radziewicz suited up for the Bourne Braves.

PENA PUTTING UP NUMBERS
Over his last eight games, Pena is hitting .345 (10-of-29) with three doubles two home runs and four RBI. 

JACQUES TO GET THE BALL
Graduate student LHP Joe Jacques will be making his first MAAC start in over a year when he gets the ball in game one. Last season, Jacques got injured in the opener at Fairfield on April 8, 2017 and was subsequently lost for the season. On the year, he is 1-1 with 21 strikeouts and a 2.00 ERA over 18.0 innings.

SIMONETTI STEPS UP ... AGAIN
Simonetti won for the third-straight start last weekend at Siena, striking out six while yielding just one unearned run on six hits over 7.0 innings in extending his scoreless innings streak to 21.0. During his streak, he is 3-0 with 25 strikeouts while limiting opposing batters to a .171 average.

FOR STARTERS
Sophomore RHP T.J. Stuart made his first collegiate start one to remember, firing a career-high 5.0 innings in moving to 3-0 on the year while helping clinch the Jaspers' series victory over Siena. On the year, he also has a MAAC-leading six saves with 20 strikeouts and a 1.53 over 29.1 innings while limiting opposing hitters to a .112 average.

MIDWEEK SUCCESS
Despite dropping all three midweek games, Manhattan got solid pitching performances in all three games:
* Junior RHP Joe DiNizio: 5.0 IP, 4K, 3H, 0 R, 0 BB - Army West Point
* Junior RHP Joe DiTorrice: 3.0 IP, 2K, 0H - Army West Point
* Junior RHP Matt Jones: 4.1 IP, 3K, 2H, 0 R - UAlbany

FRESHMAN IN NAME ONLY
Freshman Matt Padre has been outstanding over his last 12 games, hitting .357 (15-of-42) with three doubles, a triple, home run and 11 RBI while posting a .429 OBP.

VALLS DOING WORK
Since being inserted into the starting line-up seven games ago, senior Brandon Valls is batting .364 (8-of-22) with five runs and three RBI while posting a .462 OBP.

BARRELLA KEEPS CHURNING
Junior Richie Barrella has hit safely in 18-of-19 games, including 17-straight at one point, and is batting .408 (29-of-71) during that time with 11 RBI, 10 runs and five stolen bases. On the year, he paces the team and ranks sixth in the MAAC with a .347 average to go along with a team-leading 41 hits.

ONE-TWO PUNCH
Graduate student Matt Forlow and Pena each have a team-leading 27 RBI. Forlow also ranks second in the league with 11 doubles to go along with two triples, two home runs and a .263 average. Additionally, over his last 20 games he has hit safely in 15 games with a .338 average (26-of-82), 22 RBI, 18 runs, 12 extra-base hits and seven walks. Pena, meanwhile, is batting .289 with nine doubles and five home runs.

TROCH OUT FOR THE YEAR
Freshman Will Trochiano had been arguably the top rookie in the MAAC before a fluke injury ended his rookie campaign. He was hitting .333 (31-of-93) with seven doubles, a home run and 12 RBI while reaching base safely in 21-straight games to start his career. He was recently profiled by Sean Brennan of the Riverdale Press. For the entire article please click HERE.

COSGROVE READY FOR YEAR TWO IN THE PROS
2017 All-MAAC performer and 12th Round selection of the San Diego Padres will begin his second professional season with Fort Wayne of the Midwest League. Click HERE for his player page.

SCOUTING THE STAGS
Fairfield has won each of the last two MAAC Regular Season Championships and is veteran team led by senior Drew Arciuolo (.336, 9 doubles, 12 RBI, 22 BB) and junior Jack Gethings (.327, 6 doubles, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 24 BB). On the mound, Signore has been arguably the finest pitcher in the MAAC in going 3-2 with 56 strikeouts, against just eight walks, with a 3.12 ERA over 43.1 innings.

AGAINST FAIRFIELD ...
Pena is batting .379 (11-of-29) with five runs, two doubles, a triple, a home run and 3 RBI over seven career games against Stag pitching. Last year, Forlow hit .444 (4-of-9) with a double, three RBI and a stolen base. Simonetti also was outstanding in relief, firing 4.0 hitless innings in his lone appearance vs. Fairfield.

EVEN STEVEN
Over the last three years, the teams have split their 10 meetings with Manhattan outscoring Fairfield 46-38 during that time.

BARRELLA, TROCHIANO REPEAT
Barrella garnered MAAC Player of the Week accolades for the second-straight week while Trochiano also repeated in claiming his third weekly rookie citation in helping Manhattan open league play with a three-game sweep of Saint Peter's.
- Trochiano continued his torrid start to the season, hitting .444 (8-of-18) in helping the Jaspers to a perfect week.
- Barrella hit .562 (9-of-16) with four runs, a triple, nine RBI, two stolen bases and a walk while reaching base safely at least twice in all four games.

BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
Manhattan swept the weekly MAAC awards with Barrella (Player), Stuart (Pitcher) and Trochiano (Rookie) taking home top honors on March 20 after the Jaspers won three-of-four, including a pair of games at La Salle and Villanova.
- Barrella batted .571 (8-of-14) with a double, four runs, four walks, a HBP and two stolen bases while hitting safely in all four games en route to posting a .643 slugging percentage and a .684 OBP.
- Stuart notched saves in all three Manhattan wins last week, striking out four while yielding just one hit and one walk over 5.0 scoreless frames while limiting opposing hitters to a .063 average.
- Trochiano earned his second MAAC Rookie of the Week honor after hitting safely in all four games en route to batting .316 (6-of-19) with five runs, two doubles, two RBI and one stolen base.

PENA NAMED MAAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Pena hit a blistering .438 (7-for-16) with two doubles, two home runs, seven runs, eight RBI and two walks over four games last week while slugging at a .938 clip en route to being named MAAC Player of the Week on March 13.
- After singling against Stony Brook, Pena went 3-for-4 in the opener at UNC Asheville with two home runs, five runs and five RBI while reaching base safely five times.
- Pena Capped the doubleheader sweep with two more hits, three RBI and a run in the nightcap.
- The Miami native put the finishing touches on his big performance with a double and a run in the finale.

TROCHIANO CLAIMS FIRST MAAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK HONOR
The Garden State native hit .385 (5-of-13) at CSUN with a home run, two runs and three RBI while reaching base a .429 clip.

PENA NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH WATCH LIST
Pena has been named to the official watch list for the 2018 Johnny Bench Award presented by BaseballSavings.com as announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. 

COLE COMES HOME
This year marks the beginning of the Mike Cole regime at Manhattan. Cole served as an assistant for the Jaspers from 2005-2008 and was most recently an assistant at Fairfield where he helped the Stags to back-to-back MAAC Regular Season Championships and the 2016 MAAC Title.

THE RETURNERS
The Jaspers return 25 letterwinners, including seven starting position players, for the second-straight season. Click HERE for the entire prospectus.

PENA GARNERS PRESEASON HONORS
Pena was tabbed as the top MAAC pro prospect by both Baseball America (BA) and D1Baseball.Com.

PENA PACES THE OFFENSE
One of the top players in the Northeast since he set foot on campus as a freshman, Pena has hit .329 (177-of-538) with 55 doubles, 17 home runs and 113 RBI while starting all 140 Manhattan games during his time in Riverdale.

PENA PROFILED BY THE RIVERDALE PRESS
Pena was highlighted in the local paper in an article entitled 'Pena Looking To Be MLB's Next Big Hit ... Click HERE for the entire article.

JACQUES LAUDED
Jacques was tabbed as the No. 10 prospect in the MAAC by BA and No. 11 by D1.Baseball.Com.

TOP TWO IN 2019 ...
Stuart was lauded as the No. 5 pro prospect from the MAAC in 2019 while sophomore Nick Massa was tabbed as No. 9. Both players made an immediate impact as rookies a year ago and will figure prominently this season.

ROAD WARRIORS
Manhattan played its first 32 games on the road after playing its first 17 away from home a year ago.

FROM THE BRONX TO THE PROS
Cosgrove decided to forgo his final year of eligibility after being drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 12th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft while Jose Carrera inked a professional deal with the New York Yankees. Additionally, signee Tai Tiedemann was selected by the Texas Rangers in the eighth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

DUTCHESS STADIUM
Manhattan will call Duchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, NY home for the fourth-straight season, playing 14 games there.

MAAC PRESEASON POLL
The Jaspers were tabbed to finish 10th out of 11 teams.

THE STAFF
Former Manhattan great and 2017 Athletic Hall of Famer Chris Cody and Vincent Redmond complete Cole's first staff.

MAAC MAGIC
The Jaspers will be attempting to qualify for their third-straight MAAC Tournament and the fourth in five years after earning the sixth spot on the final day of the 2017 season.

SEE YOU IN STATEN ISLAND
The 2018 MAAC Baseball Championship will be held at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in Staten Island, NY from May 23-26. The 2019 and 2020 championships will also be held at the home of the Single-A Staten Island Yankees.

WHAT'S A JASPER?
The unique nickname of Manhattan College's athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College's most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served as the College's athletic director in the late 19th century. One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team's first coach. Since Brother Jasper was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan baseball games while also directing the team itself. During one particularly warm and humid day when the college was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy with the team coming to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called timeout and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed. Since the College annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880's and into the 1890's at the old Polo Grounds, the Manhattan College practice of the "seventh inning stretch" spread into the major leagues, where it has now become a time-honored custom practiced by millions of fans annually.

UP NEXT
Manhattan will play at LIU Brooklyn on Tuesday, April 16 with first pitch tabbed for 3:00 pm.