Manhattan To Open MAAC Play At Canisius

Buffalo, NY - Manhattan (7-16) opens MAAC play against defending league champion Canisius (9-15; 3-0 MAAC) on Sunday, March 31 at 2:00 pm.
  
Schedule:
Game 1 - Sunday, March 31 - 2:00 pm - Live Stats | Live Video
Manhattan GS LHP John Cain (2-2; 4.42 ERA; 36.2 IP; 35 K; 18 BB; .287 opp. BA)
Game 2 - Sunday, March 31 - 5:00 pm - Live Stats | Live Video
Manhattan Jr. RHP T.J. Stuart (2-2; 5.14 ERA; 28.0 IP; 29 K; 15 BB; .219 opp. BA)
Game 3 - Monday, April 1 - 12:00 pm - Live Stats | Live Video
Manhattan Sr. RHP Ryan Takacs (0-4; 7.50 ERA; 30.0 IP; 16 K; 22 BB; .292 opp. BA) 

Scouting Canisius
* The Golden Griffins are a balanced team with five regulars hitting between .270 and .306, while eight regulars have at least four extra-base hits on the year.

Last Year Against Canisius
* Manhattan took two-of-three as senior Richie Barrella hit .417 (5-for-12) and sophomore Matt Padre .400 (4-for-10).
* Senior RHP Logan Muratalla also was impressive, striking out four over 3.0 innings of one-hit ball.

Complete Game TJ
* Stuart picked up his first career complete victory against UAlbany by a 5-3 count, striking out six while yielding three runs on just four hits over 7.0 dominating innings.

Ted For The Win
* Sophomore RHP Teddy Sabato collected his first career win in the finale against UAlbany, striking out four while surrendering just two hits and one walk in 3.1 scoreless innings.
* Sabato has a 3.86 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 14.0 innings in this his first year play for Manhattan after transferring from North Carolina.

Hey Brother
* Takacs was impressive in the finale against UAlbany, striking out five over 5.2 innings in collecting a no-decision.
* Later in the game, Takacs' brother Connor toes the rubber for the Great Danes.

Moffett Going Yard
* Freshman David Moffett crushed his first career home run while also adding a double and two runs in the series-clinching win over UAlbany.

Have A Day
* Sophomore Matt Fahey went 3-for-6 with two RBI in the Jaspers' doubleheader sweep of UAlbany.

Two Hits, No Problem
* Padre's two-out, two-run single was one of just two Manhattan hits in the Jaspers' 3-2 win at defending NEC Champion LIU Brooklyn.

Galvan Looking Good
* Senior RHP Marc Galvan started LIU Brooklyn and struck out six while yielding a single unearned run over 5.0 innings.

DiTorrice Collects Win Number Two
* Senior RHP Joe DiTorrice picked up the win at LIU Brooklyn, striking out three over 4.0 innings of one-run ball.
* DiTorrice is now 2-0 with 20 strikeouts, against six walks, and a 5.47 ERA over 24.2 innings while limiting opposing hitters to a .255 average.

Blake Rhymes With Rake
* Blake registered his 100th career hit at Columbia.
* On the year, he is hitting .281 (25-of-89) with a team-high 10 doubles, 12 walks and four stolen bases while adding 11 runs, nine RBI and seven multi-hit games.

Cerda Crushing It
* Junior Alex Cerda is hitting .267 (24-for-90) with a team-best 16 RBI and five multi-RBI games.
* He fueled the Jasper offense with a big three-run double in Manhattan's 5-3 win over UAlbany in game one this past Sunday. 
* At No. 23 Michigan, he batted .294 (5-of-17), including batting .357 while hitting safely in all four games.

Manhattan Rallies For 3-2 Win At George Mason
* The Jaspers took the series finale against the Patriots thanks to Padre's game-winning, two-run single in the ninth inning.
* DiTorrice picked up his second career win with 3.0 perfect innings of work, fueled by four strikeouts.
* DiTorrice relieved Stuart, who yielded two runs on just three hits over 6.0 innings.

GMU Series Notes
* Manhattan pitching held George Mason to a paltry .215 average.
* Cain had six strikeouts in 6.0 innings while Takacs also fanned six over 6.1 frames.
* Freshman Jonathan Barditch hit .500 (3-for-6) while junior Dominic Palma batted .444 (4-for-9) and freshman Sam Franco .375 (3-for-8).

Cimillo Named MAAC Player & Rookie Of The Week
* Cimillo hit safely in all three games at GW, while batting a blistering .636 (7-of-11) with a double, home run, four runs and three RBI en route to being named MAAC Player and Rookie of the Week.
* The Long Island native also drew four walks in posting a .733 OBP with a 1.000 slugging percentage.
* In the opener, Cimillo reached base safely in all five of his trips to the plate, finishing up 4-for-4 with a double, walk, run and a RBI. He then crushed a solo home run with a walk in game two, before going 2-for-4 with two walks, two runs and a RBI in the finale.
* On the year, he is hitting .306 (26-of-85) with a team-best 13 runs, two double, three home runs and 11 RBI with a team-best nine multi-hit games.
* Cimillo also paces the squad with a .435 slugging percentage and a .388 OBP.

Crabbe Goes Yard
* Graduate student Cam Crabbe's two-run homer in the 11th inning lifted Manhattan to a 12-8 win in the series finale against GW.

Homer Happy
* The Jaspers have 10 home runs as eight different student-athletes have gone yard.

Cain Named MAAC Pitcher Of The Week ... Again
* For the second time in as many weeks, Cain was slated as the MAAC Pitcher of the Week, after leading Manhattan to a 5-4 win over Appalachian State.
 
* Cain collected his second win of the year, striking out eight while yielding just one unearned run on four hits and three walks over 6.2 innings.
* The Lafayette transfer struck out at least one batter in six innings and set down 10 in a row at one point.
* On the year, he is 2-2 with a team-best 4.42 ERA and 35 strikeouts over 36.2 innings. 

Cain Collects First MAAC Pitcher Of The Week Honor 
* Cain made his Jasper debut one to remember as he was named the MAAC Pitcher of the Week following his dominating season-opening performance in Manhattan's 5-2 win at Stetson.
* Cain struck out eight on 98 pitches over 7.0 innings of one-run ball. The Lafayette transfer also scattered just two hits and three walks against a Hatter team that was returning eight of its top 10 hitters from last year's Super Regional team.
* The 6-10 Cain got stronger as the game went on, retiring the final eight batters he faced, and limited Stetson to a miniscule .091 average on the day.

Stuart Keeps Rolling
* Stuart earned his first win of the year at GW, striking out six over 5.1 innings while yielding just one run.
* On the year, the preseason All-American is 2-2 with one complete game, one save, 29 strikeouts and a 5.14 ERA while limiting opposing hitters to a .219 average.
* He has 11 career saves and is one away from second place in program history, after registering his first save of the year with 2.2 innings of relief at Appalachian State.
* In the victory over Stetson, he had five strikeouts over the final two frames in a non-save situation.

Better Late Than Never
* The Jaspers have scored 20 of their 96 runs in the ninth inning or later.

Strikeouts Are The New Long Ball
* Manhattan pitching has an impressive 171 strikeouts in 194.2 innings.

The Returners
* Manhattan returns 20 letterwinners, including four starting position players and two starting pitchers. Click HERE for the entire prospectus.

Barrella Earns Preseason All-MAAC Honors
* Barrella was named to the Preseason All-MAAC team as a utility player while Manhattan was slated to finish fifth and return to the MAAC Championship.
 
* A year ago, Barrella hit a team-leading .309 a year ago with a team-high 59 hits, 21 runs and 25 runs en route to earning All-MAAC Second Team honors. He also registered a team-best 16 multi-hit games with a 17-game hitting streak and twice earned MAAC Player of the Week honors. 

Stuart Named Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-American
* Stuart was slated as 2019 Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-American Third Team, powered by Diamond Sports.
 
* As a sophomore in 2018, Stuart established himself as one of the top pitchers in the MAAC in going 6-2 with a school-record and league-leading 10 saves while also pacing the circuit with 2.57 ERA and 50 strikeouts over 63.0 innings. 
* He is also the first Jasper to earn Collegiate Baseball All-American honors since Fabian Pena and Christian Santisteban each did so in 2016.

Stuart Garners Inclusion On NCBWA Initial Stopper List
* Stuart was also was one of the 75 players to be named to the initial Watch List for the 15th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball.
 
* Stuart was also recently tabbed by Perfect Game as the No. 5 pro prospect for the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft and as a preseason All-MAAC selection by the online publication.
* The Nutmeg State standout also limited opposing hitters to a MAAC-low .178 average as Manhattan went 18-7 in his outings, including winning 14-straight at one point.
* Entering 2019, Stuart needs just five saves to match the Jasper career record of 15 stops.

Trio Earns Perfect Game/D1Baseball.Com Accolades
* Stuart and sophomore Matt Padre were slated by Perfect Game as preseason All-MAAC selections with Cain tabbed as the No. 8 pro prospect in the MAAC for the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft by D1 Baseball.
 
Cole Announces 2019 Schedule
* The Jaspers will play 56 games in 2019, consisting of 32 non-conference and 24 MAAC contests. Additionally the Jaspers will host 19 games at Dutchess Stadium and play 37 on the road.
* Manhattan will play nine games against NCAA Regional Teams and 23 games against squads that won at least 30 games.
* The Jaspers will square off against teams from 11 conferences during MAAC play: ACC, America East, Atlantic Sun, Atlantic 10, Big 10, CAA, Ivy, NEC, Patriot, Southland and Sun Belt.
* Highlighting the non-conference slate is a return to 2018 Super Regional participant Stetson as Manhattan will take part in the season-opening Ryclass Classic in Deland, FL, before playing a four-game series at the University of Michigan.
* During MAAC play, Manhattan will host Iona, Siena, Marist and Saint Peter's while playing Canisius, Monmouth, Rider and Quinnipiac on the road.
* The Jaspers will not square off with Fairfield and Niagara in 2019.

Cole On The Schedule:
 
From The Bronx To The Pros
* Fabian Pena (25th Round - San Franciso Giants) and Joe Jacques (34th Round - Pittsburgh Pirates) were each selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft as the Jaspers have now had five players/signees ink contracts with MLB teams since 2016.
* Tom Cosgrove was taken 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 fifth-straight season.

See You In Staten Island
* The 2019 MAAC Baseball Championship will be held at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in Staten Island, NY from the second-straight year from May 22-25. The 2020 championship 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.