JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Heading into Sunday's doubleheader at Saint Peter's, the Manhattan College softball team knew it needed a sweep to keep its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament hopes alive. Eleven innings and 20 runs later, the Lady Jaspers got exactly what they were looking for. Manhattan (20-20-1, 6-6 MAAC) posted an 11-0 five-inning victory in the first game at Jaroschak Field, then completed the sweep with another shutout, knocking off the Peahens (2-32, 0-12 MAAC) 9-0 in six innings in game two.
The Lady Jaspers struck quickly in game one. Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) led off the game with a single, and she scored on a two-out single by Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.). Manhattan tacked on two more runs in the top of the third. After singles by Melissa Donnelly (Long Beach, N.Y.) and Nicole Michel (Massapequa, N.Y.), Amanda Babcock (Haverstraw, N.Y.) belted a two-run single that gave the Lady Jaspers a 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Donnelly was cruising in the circle. She had a perfect game going until a leadoff walk in the fourth. Two batters later, she lost the no-hitter when Sam Bennett singled. Another walk loaded the bases before Jillian Magee flied to center to end the inning.
Manhattan broke the game open with eight runs in the top of the fifth. Donnelly started the rally with a leadoff single, then was pinch run for by Michelle Roemer (Ardsley, N.Y.). Roemer stole second and third before coming home on Rahey's RBI single. After Michel hit a double off the top of the wall in left center, Jocelin Whitmore (La Habra, Calif.) belted an RBI single. Another run came home when pinch hitter Jen Keller (Woodridge, N.J.) reached on an error to load the bases. Walraven was up next, and she cleared the bases with a double down the left field line. Monica Evangelista (Cedar Grove, N.J.) followed with a single, then Roemer was hit by a pitch to load the bases once more. Rahey reentered the game as a pinch hitter, and she smacked a two-run single to center that gave her two hits and three RBIs in the inning.
Donnelly gave up a walk and a single in the bottom of the fifth before finishing off the 11-0 shutout victory with her eighth strikeout of the game. Donnelly (4-9), who tossed her second shutout of the season, yielded just two hits and three walks.
Offensively, the Lady Jaspers collected 14 hits. Michel went 3-for-3 with a run scored in game one, while Rahey was 3-for-4 with a run scored and four RBIs. Walraven had a 2-for-4 performance at the plate to go along with two runs scored and three RBIs. Donnelly also tallied a pair of hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate, and Babcock knocked in a pair of runs.
Shelby Beaver (0-16) took the loss for Saint Peter's. She surrendered 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits with three strikeouts and a walk in 4.1 innings. Kimberly Prevedel pitched the final 0.2 innings, giving up a run on two hits and striking out one.
In game two, the Lady Jaspers scored in every inning except the third. Donnelly notched an RBI double, then scored on an error in the top of the first. Manhattan added a run when Kelly Murray (Leominster, Mass.) stole home in the top of the second, then the Lady Jaspers put up another two-spot in the top of the third. After Donnelly started the inning with a single, Rahey knocked her in with a bloop double to right. Michel followed with her first career triple to increase Manhattan's lead to 5-0.
After going down in order for the only time all day in the top of the fourth, Manhattan put two more runs on the board in the top of the fifth. Michel belted a one-out single to set up Babcock, who crushed a pitch to straightaway center field for her first career home run.
The Peahens put together their first rally of the day in the bottom of the fifth. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out, but Bennett sent a grounder to third. Michel tagged the runner going to third, then got the force at second to end the inning.
Rahey and Michel each had another RBI hit in the top of the sixth to push the Lady Jaspers' advantage to 9-0. Saint Peter's put a pair of runners on in the bottom half of the inning, but Manhattan finished off its second shutout of the day to earn its first MAAC sweep of the season.
Manhattan had 13 hits in game two to give the Lady Jaspers 27 hits in the doubleheader. Evangelista, who celebrated her birthday on Sunday, finished the second game 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Michel was 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. Rahey went 2-for-3 and knocked in a pair of runs in game two, giving her six RBIs in the doubleheader. Donnelly added a pair of hits and two runs scored, while Babcock drove in two runs in game two to give her four RBIs on the day.
Starting pitcher Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) had an easy time of it through three innings, but she had to be removed due to injury after with one out in the fourth. Sullivan gave up just three singles and struck out two in 3.1 innings. Unfortunately, however, she didn't pitch the required four innings to get the win. That went to Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.) (6-6), who gave up three hits, struck out two and walked three over the final 2.2 innings.
The Peahens collected six hits in game two, led by Stephanie Gilronan's 2-for-3 effort. Nicole Schnecker tossed the first five innings for Saint Peter's and took the loss. Schnecker (2-14) yielded eight runs on 10 hits, struck out two and walked three. Jessica Hartland surrendered one run on three hits and struck out two in the sixth.
Manhattan concludes non-conference play with a doubleheader at Wagner (13-30) at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. The Lady Jaspers and Seahawks split a twinbill at Gaelic Park earlier this season. Wagner notched a 1-0 victory in the first game, then Manhattan won game two, 2-1, on Walraven's walk-off home run.
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