EASTON, PA — Manhattan received home runs in consecutive innings from junior third baseman Trevor Hansen, and the Jaspers quickly jumped out to an 8-0 lead on the Lafayette Leopards (2-13, 0-0 Patriot) after two innings. The Jaspers offense wouldn't look back, trumping Lafayette by a final score of 17-13 on Tuesday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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In his first at bat in the top of the first, Hansen smacked a three-run home run that scored Aidan Taclas and Hunter Sute.
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Taclas and Sute each struck out but reached base safely on wild pitches from Lafayette's Trey Zaffiro to keep the Jaspers' threat alive.
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Manhattan added five more runs in the second inning on five hits, with Hansen delivering another three-run bomb to extend the Jaspers lead to 8-0.
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Freshman Guriyandel Salva started off the second inning with a single, and was brought home on a double from classmate Jeremy Sosa. Two more singles from Ryan Lordier and Sute set the stage for Hansen's crushing blow on Zaffiro.
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Lafayette answered in the bottom of the second, hanging a three-spot thanks to a three-run home run from Teddy Cashman off Arnav Ghuliani.
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With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the fourth, a wild pitch from Kellen Moore allowed Sosa to score to extend the lead to 9-3.
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One batter late, Ryan Ash made the Leopards pay again with a two-out double that plated two runs.
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Lafayette stayed calm and trusted their approach, manufacturing the next eight runs over the next two innings to cut Manhattan's lead to 12-10.
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Manhattan added a valuable insurance in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch which scored Salva, who initially reached on a lead-off single before advancing to second on an error and to third on a wild pitch.
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Then, Aidan Taclas registered his lone hit of the day which came in the form of a two-run blast that made the score 15-10. Another defensive miscue by the Leopards allowed Josiah Brown to score to conclude a productive four-run seventh inning.
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A two-run home run for Ethan Swidler proved to be Lafayette's last breath.
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The Jaspers tacked on one last run in the top of the ninth when Aidan Katzman's single scored Hansen from second.
STATS AND NOTES
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Hansen hit the 16th and 17th home runs of his collegiate career all coming in a Manhattan uniform.
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Tuesday's performance was Hansen's fourth career multi-home run game and the second four-hit game of his career.
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Hansen finished the day 4-6 with five RBIs and three runs scored.
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The Jaspers' 17 runs was its highest run total since scoring 17 last season in an 11-run win over Hofstra on March 16, 2024.
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At 7-8, Manhattan is off to its best 15-game start since 2022.
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The Jaspers used nine pitchers on Tuesday.
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Sophomore Carter Cowburn made his season debut, pitching the fourth inning for Manhattan while giving up two runs on four hits.
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Nine different Jaspers drove in a run on Tuesday.
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Taclas notched two RBIs, giving him three multi-RBI games in his last four efforts.
NEXT UP
Manhattan (7-8, 2-1 MAAC) will gear up for its first home series of the season when it plays Fairfield (9-4, 0-0 MAAC) this weekend at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University. The three-game set will open on Friday at 3 PM. Game two will be Saturday at 1 PM followed by game three at 12 PM on Sunday.
Follow Manhattan Baseball on Instagram (@jaspersbaseball) and X (@JaspersBaseball).