Manhattan Returns To MAAC Play At Siena

Loudonville, NY - Manhattan (14-12; 3-0 MAAC) returns to action this weekend with a key series at Siena (4-20; 4-2 MAAC) beginning with a Saturday doubleheader at 1:00 pm.
 
Schedule:
Game 1 - Saturday, April 7 - 1:00 pm | Live Stats
Manhattan Jr. RHP Marc Galvan (2-2; 4.18 ERA; 32.1 IP; 24 K; 13 BB; .262 opp. BA)
Game 2 - Saturday, April 7 - 4:00 pm | Live Stats
Manhattan GS RHP Matt Simonetti (3-1; 3.93 ERA; 34.1 IP; 42 K; 13 BB; .227 opp. BA)
Game 3 - Sunday, April 8 - 12:00 pm | Live Stats
Manhattan Jr. RHP Joe DiNizio (1-3; 4.50 ERA; 30.0 IP; 21 K; 16 BB; .274 opp. BA)

MARCH MADNESS
The Jaspers finished March with a 13-6 record - including winning 8-of-9 at one point and four weekend sets. During the month, Manhattan hit .281 with four different regulars hitting above .300. On the mound, the Jaspers pitched to a 3.73 ERA while limiting opposing hitters to a .227 average.

PADRE PICKS IT UP
Freshman Matt Padre has amplified the Manhattan offense over the last six games, batting a team-best .417 (10-of-24) with eight runs, three doubles, a triple and seven RBI while slugging at a .625 clip.

VALLS, PFENNINGER DO DAMAGE
Senior Brandon Valls reached base safely in all six trips to the plate in the Jaspers' 12-4 win at Hofstra, finishing up 3-for-3 with four RBI, two runs and three walks while classmate Michael Pfenninger crushed his second career home run. Entering the game, Valls had been just 2-for-12 on the season with Pfenninger's big shot continuing his recent upward trend that has seen the Garden State native record four doubles, a triple and a home run over his last six games. 

BARRELLA CONTINUES BREAKOUT CAMPAIGN
Junior Richie Barrella keyed Manhattan's six-run, third inning in the victory at Hofstra with a leadoff single while advancing his hitting streak to 14 games. During that time, Barrella is batting .453 (24-of-53) with 10 runs, a double, triple 11 RBI, eight walks and four stolen bases. On the year, he is fourth in the MAAC in batting (.360) with a team-leading .430 OBP and 10 multi-hit performances.

ONE-TWO PUNCH
Graduate student Matt Forlow and junior Fabian Pena continue to pace the MAAC in RBI, checking in with 26 and 25, respectively. Forlow ranks second in the league with 10 doubles to go along with two triples and two home runs with a .269 average while posting a team-leading .462 slugging percentage. Additionally, over his last 16 games he has hit safely in 12 games with a .338 average (23-of-68) 21 RBI, 18 runs, 11 extra-base hits and seven walks. Pena smacked his team-leading fourth home run at Fordham to go along with six doubles, a .270 average and a .450 slugging percentage.

SIMONETTI SHUTS DOWN FORDHAM/SPU
Graduate student Matt Simonetti led Manhattan to a 2-0 win at Fordham last week after striking out nine, against two walks, while scattering five hits over 7.0 scoreless innings in extending his scoreless streak to 14.0 innings. During that time he has 19 strikeouts, against four walks, and has held the opposition without a hit with runners in scoring position (0-for-15). On the year, Simonetti is 3-1 while pacing the Jaspers in ERA (3.93), innings (34.1), strikeouts (42) and opponent average (.227).

STUART CONTINUES DOMINANCE
Sophomore RHP T.J. Stuart collected his MAAC-leading sixth save at Fordham thanks to firing a pair of scoreless frames. On the year, he has yielded just eight hits, including two extra base, over 24.1 innings of work with 19 strikeouts, against nine walks, while limiting opposing hitters to a .110 average.

WELCOME TO THE PARTY
Junior RHP Anthony Fanelli fired a pair of scoreless innings in his first two games of the year while classmate RHP Logan Muratella struck out the side in his lone inning of work at Hofstra to make his Jasper debut a success.

JONES STARTS STRONG
Junior RHP Matt Jones continued his strong start to the season with 4.0 scoreless innings of relief at Fordham and has struck out nine over 8.2 innings with a 3.12 ERA.

BISSET TOUGH TO K
Senior Brendan Bisset paces the MAAC as the hardest player to strikeout, checking in with just one every 9.7 at-bats and is batting .268 with seven doubles, 13 RBI and 11 walks, against just 10 strikeouts. Over his last 16 games, he is hitting .323 (20-of-62) during that stretch with 11 runs, seven doubles and 11 RBI.

TOPS IN THE MAAC
As a team, the Jaspers pace the league with 21 double plays, 96 runs and 8.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings.

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 SAINTS
Siena played a difficult non-conference schedule and is led by the trio of junior Brian Kelly (.345, 6 XBH, 10 RBI), senior Phil Madonna (.311, 3 doubles, 7 RBI) and senior Joe Drpich (.309, 6 doubles, 4 HR, 15 RBI with sophomore RHP Brendan White (2-4, 5.19 ERA, 28 K, 43.1 IP) and junior LHP Tommy Miller (2-5, 5.40 ERA, 36 K, 43.1 IP) pacing the pitching staff.

MAAC SUCCESS
Siena has won weekend sets against last year's MAAC champion Marist and runner-up Iona despite going 0-20 during non-conference action.

LAST YEAR
Manhattan defeated Siena 5-4 in the series finale of the teams' three-game in 2017 on a Bisset walk-off RBI single while snapping a six-game losing streak to the Saints.

PENA VS THE SAINTS
Over four career games against Siena, Pena is batting .438 (7-of-16) with two doubles, a triple, a home run and five RBI.

BARRELLA, TROCHIANO REPEAT
Barrella garnered MAAC Player of the Week accolades for the second-straight week while freshman Will 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.

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 .327 (169-of-517) with 52 doubles, 16 home runs and 111 RBI while starting all 134 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
Senior LHP Joe Jacques was tabbed as the No. 10 prospect in the MAAC by BA and No. 11 by D1.Baseball.Com.

BISSET BREAKS OUT
The unquestioned breakout star of last season was Bisset. After missing the bulk of his sophomore year due to injury, Bisset hit a team-leading .335 with 11 doubles, one triple, one home run and 29 RBI.

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 will play its first 33 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 a doubleheader at Army West Point on Tuesday, April 10 with first pitch tabbed for 3:00 pm.