Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
BRONX, N.Y. - On Tuesday afternoon, the Manhattan College softball team made the short trip across town for a doubleheader with Fordham. The Rams (28-8) have been receiving votes in the national polls for the past few weeks, and they used a big inning in each game to sweep the Lady Jaspers (8-10). Fordham won the first game 7-0, then posted a 7-3 victory in the nightcap at Bahoshy Field.
After getting a run in the first and two in the second in game one, Fordham broke the game open with a four-spot in the bottom of the fourth. Jocelyn Dearborn recorded a one-out walk, then Lindsey Kay Bright reached on an infield single and Jamie LaBovick walked to load the bases. Erin Fisher followed with a grand slam to right center that gave the Rams a 7-0 advantage.
That was more than Fordham starter Chelsea Plimpton needed, as she gave up just one Manhattan hit, a ground-rule double by Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) in the fourth. Plimpton (6-2) struck out 11 and walked just one in the shutout.
Offensively, three different Rams had three hits in game one. Bright and Dearborn both went 2-for-3, while Bright scored a pair of runs. Fisher was 2-for-4 with five RBIs.
For Manhattan, Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.) got the start in the circle and took the loss. Rampino (1-5) gave up seven runs (five earned) and eight hits while walking five in 3.1 innings. Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) relieved Rampino in the fourth and was excellent in 2.2 shutout innings, yielding just one hit and no walks while striking out two.
In game two, Fordham put up five runs in the bottom of the second. Samantha Pellecchio got the rally started with a one-out walk. After Jamie Pollack singled, Manhattan brought the infield in with Jess Richards coming to the plate. Trying to sacrifice the runners over to second and third, Richards placed her bunt perfectly, as it rolled through the hole in the infield. Pellecchio scored on the play, then Pollack came home on an RBI single by Meghan Shager. Dearborn capped the rally with a three-run homer to left center.
Manhattan put together a rally of its own in the top of the fourth. Kelly Murray (Leominster, Mass.) led off the inning with an infield single, then moved to second on an illegal pitch. Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) followed with a single, giving Manhattan runners on first and third with one out. However, the rally died when Rampino sent a line drive to left field and Bright made an amazing catch. Thinking the ball would drop, Murray took off on contact, and, a result, she was doubled-off third to end the inning.
Fordham added two more runs on a long home run by Katherine VanBenschoten in the bottom of the sixth, but the Lady Jaspers avoided the shutout with a three-spot in the top of the seventh. After Rampino beat out an infield single, pinch hitter Kaitlin Rodriguez (Dumont, N.J.) worked a walk. After Jen Keller (Woodridge, N.J.) struck out, Amanda Babcock (Haverstraw, N.Y.) smashed a double to the gap in right center, driving in both runs. Melissa Donnelly (Long Beach, N.Y.) was up next, and she sent a single through the middle that brought Babcock home to make it 7-3.
Manhattan had six hits in game two, three in the seventh inning. Babcock went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs, while Donnelly was 1-for-2 with an RBI. After finishing game one in the circle, Sullivan (5-3) got the start in game two. She gave up five runs on six hits with a walk in two innings. Donnelly tossed the final four innings, surrendering two runs on six hits. She also had a strikeout.
Dearborn, LaBovick and Pollack all had two hits in game two, as Fordham belted out 12 as a team. Dearborn went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Pollack was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Starting pitcher Jen Mineau was brilliant in three innings of work. She yielded just one hit and struck out six of the 10 batters she faced, including five in a row in the second and third innings. LaBovick (3-1) earned the win after giving up three runs and five hits with two walks and two strikeouts over the final four innings.
The Lady Jaspers are back in action on Wednesday, when they begin a six-game homestand against Wagner (7-20). The doubleheader gets underway at 3 p.m.
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