Manhattan University Athletics

Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score 

RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? After opening the season with 32 straight games on the road, the Manhattan College softball team finally got a chance to play home games at Gaelic Park on Friday afternoon.  And the Lady Jaspers provided their fans with plenty of excitement, as well.  After Marist tied the score with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh, Melissa Donnelly (Long Beach, N.Y.) led off the bottom half of the inning with a walk-off home run to center field that gave Manhattan (11-23, 3-3 MAAC) a 3-2 victory in game one of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) doubleheader.  Marist (12-28, 5-5 MAAC) notched a 5-3 win in the nightcap.

Game one began as a battle of dueling aces Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.) and Caitlin Carpentier, as the sides traded zeroes through five innings.  Donnelly relieved Rampino in the sixth and gave up a single, but didn't let the Red Foxes get on the board. 

After recording just one hit through five innings, Manhattan finally got to Carpentier in the bottom of the sixth.  Danielle Just (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) got the rally started with a one-out double to right center and moved to third on Nicole Michel's (Massapequa, N.Y.) single to left.  Michel then stole second to give Manhattan two runners in scoring position with one out.  Carla Velasquez (Miami, Fla.) grounded to third for the second out, then Kara Cokeley (Pearl River, N.Y.) delivered a double to the wall in center that scored both runners.

Needing just three outs to seal the win, Donnelly walked Heather Young leading off the seventh.  A throwing error gave the Red Foxes runners on first and third with nobody out, but Donnelly quickly got the first two outs on a popup to second and a grounder to third.  After Jessica Green walked to load the bases, Nicole DiVirgilio sent a grounder to second that looked like it might end the game, but Erika Sullivan's (Bay Shore, N.Y.) pulled Velasquez off the bag.  As Velasquez argued the close play, Pomes sprinted around third and just beat the throw home with the tying run.

Donnelly took matters into her own hands in the bottom of the seventh, belting a pitch over the center field fence to give Manhattan a 3-2 walk-off victory.  The home run was her second of the season and the first walk-off blast of her career.  She was also the winning pitcher in the game, tossing two innings and giving up two unearned runs on one hit with a strikeout and three walks.

Manhattan had just five hits in the first game, led by Michel's 2-for-2 effort.  Rampino went five scoreless innings in the circle, yielding just three hits while striking out two and walking one.

Manhattan pitching limited Marist to just four hits by four different players in game one.  Carpentier (7-13) gave up three runs and five hits while striking out five and walking one.

The runs in game two came early, as Marist got on the board right away.  After three singles loaded the bases with one out, DiVirgilio lifted a sacrifice fly to left field that gave the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead.  The Lady Jaspers came right back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first.  Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) singled down the left field line and scored when Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.Y.) lifted her first career home run, a two-run shot to left that gave Manhattan a 2-1 lead.

Marist tied it at 2-2 on Megan Lamoureux's RBI double in the top of the second, but the Lady Jaspers again responded with a run in their half of the inning.  Sullivan and Walraven both walked to give Manhattan a pair of base runners for Just.  She blasted a single to left that put Manhattan back in front, 3-2, but the inning ended when Walraven tried to score from second on the play.

A pair of walks to the first two hitters in the top of the fifth led to an unearned Marist run that tied the game at 3-3.  There could have been more damage, but the Red Foxes tried a double steal with runners on first and third and the Lady Jaspers gunned down Kate Malloy at home.  Rampino then struck out Alanna Woody to end the inning.

After Manhattan stranded a pair of runners in the bottom of the sixth, Marist again took advantage of walks in the top of the seventh.  The first two batters of the inning walked, then Malloy singled to load the bases.  DiVirgilio followed with an RBI single to left field that gave Marist a 4-3 lead.  The Red Foxes added an insurance run on Lindsay Kinel's sacrifice fly.  There would be no walk-off win for Manhattan in this one, as Caitlin Schell retired the Lady Jaspers in order in the bottom of the seventh to give Marist a split in the twinbill.

The Lady Jaspers had just six hits in game two, led by Walraven's 2-for-3 effort.  All three Manhattan pitchers saw time in the circle in game two.  Sullivan started and worked the first three innings.  She gave up two runs on five hits and walked one.  Rampino went the next two innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.  Game one winner Donnelly (4-8) took the loss in game two after surrendering two runs on two hits in two innings.  She also walked two and struck out two.

Malloy was 2-for-4 in game two, as Marist outhit Manhattan 9-6.  Green scored two runs, while DiVirgilio went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.  Lamoureux was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored.  Schell (4-11) tossed a complete game in the circle for the Red Foxes.  She yielded three runs on six hits, struck out five and walked eight.