Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Game Two: Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)
Game One: Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)
Niagara University, NY - Manhattan posted a hard-fought 6-5 win over Niagara in eight innings to force a doubleheader split after dropping game one by a 9-3 count as the teams will now square off on Saturday at 1:00 pm with a trip to the MAAC Tournament on the line.
The Jaspers are 25-27 and 13-10 in the MAAC while the Purple Eagles are 23-25 and 12-11 in the league.
Game Two
Freshman
Matt Padre (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central) crushed a three-run homer before scoring the game-winning run in leading Manhattan to its third extra-inning victory of the year.
Padre finished up 2-for-3 with three runs, three RBI and a walk to pace a seven-hit Jasper offense. Senior
Michael Pfenninger (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central) was also 2-for-3 with a double, run and sacrifice to round out the multi-hit performers on offense.
Junior RHP
Logan Muratalla (San Dimas, CA / Mt. San Antonio) improved to 3-0 with the victory after working 1.1 innings of scoreless relief with sophomore RHP
T.J. Stuart (Milford, CT / Joseph A. Foran) firing a perfect frame in notching his 10th save of the season.
The Jaspers opened up the scoring in the second inning when Padre scored on a wild pitch before Pfenninger scored on a
Brendan Bisset (Sr., New City, NY / Don Bosco Prep (NJ)) sacrifice fly.
Niagara would fight back to tie it with runs in the third and fourth innings before Manhattan reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth.
Matt Forlow (GS, Cold Spring, NY / Haldane) and
Fabian Pena (Jr., Miami, FL / Calusa Prep) led off with singles before Padre crushed a home run to left field in putting the Jaspers in front by a 5-2 count.
The Purple Eagles would again tie it with three runs in the sixth, drawing even at 5-5.
After Niagara stranded a pair of runners in the bottom of the seventh, Manahttan made its move in the eighth. Padre led off with a single before moving to third on a Pfenninger sacrifice and a well-placed ground out. Padre then was able to cross the plate on a pass ball in staking the Jaspers an insurmountable 6-5 lead.
Wyatt Olsen, Benny Serrano and Joseph Tevlin all had two hits to lead the way for Niagara.
Game One
Niagara took game one by a 9-3 count over Manhattan thanks to rapping out 13 hits.
The Jaspers struck first in the third inning when Bisset scored on a Pena sacrifice fly before the Purple Eagles responded with five runs over the next three frames.
Manhattan would get two runs back in the sixth inning as senior
Brandon Valls (Miami, FL / Dean CC) led off walk before scoring on a Pfenninger RBI double. Pfenninger would later come around to score when Bisset delivered a RBI double of his own.
Niagara quickly got one run back in the bottom of the frame and would put the game on ice with three in the eighth in posting the aforementioned 9-3 victory.
Bisset, Forlow and Pfenninger all had two hits to highlight a 10-hit attack.
Owen Dziados and Michael Gabriele each rapped out three hits to make a winner out of LHP Cody Eckerson as the senior struck out five while yielding three runs on seven hits over 5.2 innings.
