Box Score (GM 1) | Box Score (GM 2)
Teaneck, NY - Manhattan took both ends of a doubleheader from Saint Peter's by scores of 15-7 and 7-6 at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex.
The Jaspers improve to 23-28 and 14-6 in the MAAC while the Peacocks fall to 4-43 and 2-18 in the league.
Sophomore
Matt Padre (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central) went 6-for-7 with four runs, two doubles and two RBI to pace an offense that hit .415 on the day, as the Green & White collected its fifth MAAC doubleheader sweep of the year.
Game One
Graduate student
John Cain (Middletown, NY / Lafayette) struck out 11 and didn't walk a batter in collecting his league-leading eighth win of the year, as Manhattan topped Saint Peter's 15-7 in the opener.
The Peacocks dented the scoreboard first in their first trip to the plate with a Hunter Mason RBI single, only to see the Jaspers answer in the bottom part of the frame.
Freshman
Sam Franco (Bardonia, NY / Clarkstown South) immediately got that run back with a solo home run to deep center. The Jaspers then loaded up the bases on a
Shawn Blake (GS, Stratford, CT / Elon) single and walks to freshman
Nick Cimillo (Airmont, NY / Suffern) and junior
Alex Cerda (Miami, FL / Florida Christian School). Padre followed with a two-run double down the left field line, plating Blake and Cimillo while pushing Cerda to third. Freshman
David Moffett (Oneida, NY / Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) then smacked a sacrifice fly on the first pitch to bring around Cerda to cap the four-run outburst.
Manhattan extended the lead out to 8-1 with four more runs in the third inning thanks to another big bases-loaded hit. Graduate student
Cam Crabbe (White Plains, NY / USF) cleared the bases with a three-run double down the left field line, and would come around to score on a sacrifice fly from freshman
Jonathan Barditch's (Miami, FL / Belen Jesuit Prep).
After the visitors got one back in the top of the fourth, Cerda blasted a solo home run to center to highlight a three-run frame that extended the lead out to 11-2.
The Jaspers added another run in the sixth as Blake plated Crabbe with an infield single.
Saint Peter's then scored two runs in the top of the seventh, and Manhattan got those runs back in the bottom part of the frame in the form of a
Jake Knop (So., Portland, ME / Portland) sacrifice fly and Crabbe RBI single.
After the teams again traded runs in the eighth, the Peacocks plated two in the ninth but nothing more in dropping the opener by the aforementioned 15-7 count.
Cain (8-3) yielded nine hits while surrendering just two runs over 6.0 solid innings.
Crabbe went 4-for-5 with two doubles, five RBI and two runs to pace a 14-hit Manhattan offense. Padre also was a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs, two RBI and two walks, while Blake and Knop each had two hits to round out the multi-hit performers.
Saint Peter's also rapped out 14 hits with six different Peacocks registering two in the game.
Game Two
The Jaspers scored five unanswered runs in posting a 7-6 victory against the Peacocks in the nightcap.
On the mound, junior RHP
T.J. Stuart (Milford, CT / Joseph A. Foran) struck out a career-high nine in collecting his NCAA-leading seventh complete game of the year.
Manhattan opened the scoring in the first inning as Franco and Blake led off with singles, before the duo executed a successful double steal to account for the first run.
Saint Peter's responded with four runs in the third in opening up a 4-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Jaspers got one run back as Knop's two-out single plated Padre, before the visitors answered with two runs in the top of the fifth on Andrew Connor's inside-the-park home run.
Manhattan immediately responded with two runs in the bottom part of the frame thanks to a Franco RBI double and a Cerda RBI ground out.
The Jaspers were back at it one inning later in reclaiming the lead with three runs. Crabbe worked a full-count walk to lead off the frame, before Barditch blasted a two-run homer to left field to tie it up at 6-6. Franco then smoked his second double of the game, and would come into score on a Cimillo RBI single as the Green & White took what would prove to be an insurmountable 7-6 lead.
The Peacocks would load the bases with two outs in the seventh, only to be denied when Stuart induced a soft grounder to third for the final out of the game.
Franco was 3-for-4 with two doubles, three runs and a RBI while Padre went 3-for-4 with a run to highlight a 13-hit attack.
Stuart (7-4) won of the third-straight start, yielding five runs on six hits with three walks over 7.0 innings of work.
Anthony Ramos was 2-for-2 with a double and two runs to pace Saint Peter's, which had six hits.
The teams will wrap up their series tomorrow at 10:30 am.
