Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College softball team scored in just two of 14 innings on Tuesday afternoon. But that was enough to give the Lady Jaspers (11-13) a pair of victories. Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) tossed her fourth shutout of the year in game one, as Manhattan made a first-inning score hold up in a 1-0 victory. Then the Lady Jaspers' offense came alive in game two, scoring eight runs in the fifth inning of an 8-5 win over Albany (13-16) at Gaelic Park. The doubleheader sweep was Manhattan's first of the season.
An unearned run in the bottom of the first was the difference in game one. Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) started the inning with a double off the top of the wall in right center, then moved to third on a passed ball. After a pair of strikeouts, Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) sent a grounder towards Walraven's twin sister Andrianna at short. Rahey beat the throw to first, and Kristina Walraven came across with what turned out to be the game's only run.
Albany put a runner on third with one out in the top of the third, and tried the squeeze play to bring the runner home. However, Nicole Kothe's bunt went back to the circle, and Sullivan threw Diane MacDowell out at home. Michelle Connors then flied to right to end the inning.
The Great Danes rallied again in the fourth. Kat Smith belted a one-out double to left center, then was replaced by Stephanie Talerico. Jessica Bergin followed with a single to center, and Talerico rounded third to draw a throw home. Talerico didn't go, but Bergin took off on the throw, and Manhattan catcher Meghan McDevitt (Nutley, N.J.) gunned her down at second for the second out of the inning. Katie Wambold then flied to center to end the threat, and Albany didn't get a runner past second base again.
Manhattan's only hit after the first inning was a single by Nicole Michel (Massapequa, N.Y.) in the fourth. Sullivan (7-4) was masterful in the circle, scattering five hits in a complete game effort. She struck out three and walked three.
Marissa Powell (4-8) retired 16 of the last 17 batters she faced, including the final eight, but suffered a tough-luck loss. She gave up an unearned run and three hits while striking out six and walking just one in six innings of work. Kothe had two of the Great Danes' five hits in game one.
Early on, it looked like game two would be another pitchers' duel, as Melissa Donnelly (Long Beach, N.Y.) and Allie Weiser matched zeroes through three innings. However, Smith belted a three-run pinch-hit home run in the top of the fourth to give Albany a 3-0 lead.
After getting just one hit off Weiser over the first four innings, the Manhattan offense exploded in the bottom of the fifth. Melissa Cascio (Kings Park, N.Y.) and Jen Keller (Woodridge, N.J.) belted back-to-back singles to start the rally, and they both scored on Kristina Walraven's single. After Monica Evangelista (Cedar Grove, N.J.) and Donnelly both singled to load the bases, Rahey smashed a double down the left field line to give the Lady Jaspers a 4-3 lead. Manhattan wasn't done yet, however. Michel was up next, and she ripped a single to right that drove in Evangelista and pinch runner Megan Weaver (Congers, N.Y.). Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.) put an exclamation point on the inning with a long two-run homer to left field. In total, Manhattan recorded eight runs and eight hits in the fifth inning.
A pair of Manhattan errors gave Albany a run in the top of the sixth, then Gina Mason homered leading off the seventh inning to pull the Great Danes within 8-5. However, Rampino retired the side in order after the home run to preserve the victory.
Eight different players scored a run for the Lady Jaspers in game two. Manhattan's nine hits were spread among eight different players, as Evangelista was the only Lady Jasper with a multi-hit game. Kristina Walraven, Rahey, Michel and Rampino all had two-RBI hits in the fifth. Donnelly went the first four innings in the circle, giving up three runs on six hits with two walks and a strikeout. Rampino (2-5), who entered as a pinch hitter in the fourth, earned the win with three solid innings of relief. She surrendered two runs (one earned) and two hits, struck out two and walked one.
MacDowell was 3-for-3 from the nine-spot for the Great Danes, while Mason went 2-for-4 at the plate. Mason also scored twice. Smith knocked in three runs on her fourth-inning homer. Weiser (4-5) went the distance in the circle, yielding eight runs on nine hits, striking out four and walking two.
The Lady Jaspers play their only two road contests in a 12-game span on Wednesday afternoon, when they visit Stony Brook (18-11) for a 3 p.m. twinbill.
To follow Manhattan Athletics on Twitter, go to twitter.com/GoJaspers and on Facebook.com search "Manhattan Jaspers."
