Manhattan University Athletics

NEW YORK - Nicole Michel (Massapequa, N.Y.) and Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) combined to go 6-for-8 with three home runs and eight RBIs on Sunday afternoon, as the Manhattan College softball team (7-7) notched an 8-5 victory over Columbia (5-14) at the Columbia Softball Stadium.  There was a steady light rain and occasional gusts of wind throughout the contest.  As a result, the second game of the scheduled doubleheader was cancelled.

The rain started to fall in the bottom of the first, when Columbia put together a three-run rally to take an early lead.  Leadoff hitter Allison Lam got the inning started with an infield single, then Jennifer Bergeron belted a single to left center.  Dani Pineda was up next and she hit a chopper back to the circle.  Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) tried to get the out at home, but the throw was late.  Pineda rounded first to draw a throw, and Bergeron came around third.  She beat the throw back to the plate, giving the Lions a 2-0 lead.  Kayla Lechler followed with a single to center, and Pineda came across on an error to make it 3-0 Columbia.  Sullivan got out of any further trouble with a pair of infield popups and a fly ball to right.

Manhattan took the lead with a five-spot in the top of the third.  Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) got the rally started with a double off the top of the wall in left center that just missed being a home run by a few inches.  Melissa Donnelly (Long Beach, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch and Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.) walked to load the bases for Rahey.  She responded with a long grand slam to right field that gave Manhattan a 4-3 lead.  Michel was up next, and she sent a blast to left for her first career home run.

The same cast of characters was at the heart of another Manhattan rally in the top of the fifth.  Rampino delivered a one-out single to right, then Rahey reached on an infield single.  Michel followed with her second homer of the game, a three-run shot to straightaway center that put the Lady Jaspers up 8-3.  Michel's blast chased Columbia starter Maureen O'Kane, and Monica Evangelista (Cedar Grove, N.J.) knocked a single off reliever Jessica Rakonza before Rakonza induced a pair of fly balls to end the inning.

Anne Marie Skylis and Lam belted back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the fifth.  Sullivan retired the next two hitters before Lechler delivered a double that was just fair along the left field line, driving in both runners.  Rampino was then called upon to relieve Sullivan, and she struck out Maggie Johnson to end the inning.

Neither team threatened in the final two innings, as the two relievers did a good job shutting down the opposing offense.  Rakonza retired six straight Lady Jaspers between Evangelista's single and a Rahey double in the seventh, while Rampino gave up just a single in the sixth and a single in the seventh. 

Rahey and Michel had identical lines in the middle of the Manhattan lineup.  Each went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.  Walraven was 2-for-4 with a run scored, as the Lady Jaspers belted 10 hits as a team.  Sullivan (5-2) was effective after a rough first inning.  She gave up five runs (four earned) and eight hits in 4.2 innings of work.  Rampino gave up just two hits and struck out four in 2.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn her first save of the season.

For the Lions, Lam was 3-for-4 with two runs scored.  Bergeron and Lechler each went 2-for-4 at the plate, while Lechler also drove in a pair of runs.  Stephanie Yagi also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3.  O'Kane (2-7) went the first 4.1 innings and yielded eight runs on eight hits.  She also walked three and struck out one.  Rakonza gave up a pair of hits in 2.2 innings.