Manhattan University Athletics

Box Score 

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. ? It took 16 innings, four and a half hours, and nearly 500 pitches, but the Manhattan College softball team (20-26) won an instant classic, 6-3 over Fairfield (21-28), to avoid elimination at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament on Friday at Gartland Field.  Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.) and Fairfield ace Sarah Minice, the MAAC Pitcher of the Year, each went the distance in the thriller, which was the longest game in MAAC history and tied for the 15^th-longest in terms of innings in NCAA history.

Manhattan took a 2-0 lead with a run in the first and one in the second before Fairfield tied it with a pair of unearned tallies in the bottom of the third.  The Lady Jaspers regained the lead in the top of the fourth.  After Amanda Genovese (Bethany, Conn.) led off the inning with a single to left, pinch runner Gianna Cirilli (Little Ferry, N.J.) moved from first to third on Melissa Donnelly's (Long Beach, N.Y.) sacrifice bunt.  Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) followed with an RBI single that scored Cirilli and put Manhattan in front 3-2.  Fairfield got that run back immediately on Kayla Marth's solo home run leading off the bottom of the fourth.

That was it until the 16^th, as the dueling aces threw up zeroes in each of the next 11 innings.  Each team had plenty of chances to score, however, and some brilliant defensive plays and clutch pitching kept the game deadlocked.  Manhattan had runners on second and third with one out in the top of the eighth, but Minice induced a popup and a fly ball to get out of the inning. 

It looked like Fairfield might win it in the bottom of the eighth when the Stags put runners on second and third with one out and Marth coming up.  The Stags tried a suicide squeeze, and Marth popped up a bunt back to the circle.  Rampino caught the popup, then doubled Lisa Meringer off third to complete the inning-ending double play.

Manhattan had at least two runners on base in every extra inning, and again threatened to score in the top of the 13^th.  Rampino started the inning with a sharp single off Fairfield first baseman Allie Ritacco's glove.  Danielle Just (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) then bounced back to Minice, who tried to get the out at second.  However, her throw was wide and the Lady Jaspers had runners on first and second with nobody out.  Minice got out of the jam with a popup, a fly ball to right and a grounder to third.

In the bottom of the 13^th, the Stags used a single and a pair of walks to load the bases with two down.  Rampino got out of the inning when Dani Griswold drove a fly ball right to Walraven in center field.

After leaving 21 runners on base over the first 15 innings, the Lady Jaspers finally broke through with a three-spot in the top of the 16^th.  Monica Evangelista (Cedar Grove, N.J.), who got the start at designated player, started the rally with an infield single, then moved to second on Genovese's sacrifice bunt.  Donnelly followed with a single to the hole in deep short, then Walraven beat the throw on a chopper back to Minice for Manhattan's third infield single of the inning and her sixth hit of the game.  With the bases juiced, Fairfield moved the infield in and Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) sent a grounder to short.  Griswold's throw home beat the runner, but Marth dropped the ball and Evangelista scored the go-ahead run.  Rampino then lifted a sacrifice fly to right that allowed Donnelly to score, and Walraven scored on Just's single up the middle.

Now staked to a lead, Rampino got Marth to ground to short for the first out of the bottom of the 16^th.  Griswold then singled through the left side, but she was erased when Alli Wigand sent a grounder to short.  After Kristina Lingo walked, Allie Ritacco came up as the tying run.  However, she popped up to second, and Sullivan made the easy play to end the marathon and eliminate the Stags.  The win was Manhattan's first MAAC Tournament victory since the 1999 MAAC Championship Game and snapped a five-game postseason losing streak.

After collecting just three hits against Canisius on Thursday, the Lady Jaspers had 22 hits against Fairfield.  Walraven went 6-for-9 in the game, scored two runs, and added an RBI.  Nicole Michel (Massapequa, N.Y.) was 3-for-8, while Genovese went 3-for-7 at the plate.  Evangelista went 3-for-6 and scored two runs, including the game-winner.  Carla Velasquez (Miami, Fla.) and Donnelly each added two hits, as every Manhattan starter had at least one hit.  Rampino (8-8) threw 206 pitches, yielded three runs (one earned) on 10 hits, struck out nine and walked five.

Fairfield was held to 10 hits, led by two apiece from Kristie Trifiolis and Meghan Borst.  Trifiolis also scored a run.  Minice (18-12), who tossed all 10 innings in a loss to Niagara on Thursday, approached the 300-pitch mark in the game, throwing 293 pitches.  She faced 77 batters, giving up six runs (three earned) and 22 hits while striking out nine and walking five.