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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College softball team was looking to make a statement in its doubleheader with first-place Marist on Sunday afternoon. And the Lady Jaspers did exactly that, handing the Red Foxes their first two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) losses of the season. Manhattan (16-18, 5-3 MAAC) notched a 9-6 victory in game one, then followed it up with another 9-6 triumph over the Red Foxes (25-16, 8-2 MAAC) in the second game at Gaelic Park.
"We needed to make a statement in the league, so it was really important that we swept today," Head Coach Tom Pardalis said. "We consider ourselves one of the top teams in the league, and today I think we made a statement."
In game one, Marist took an early lead on Aly Klemmer's two-run homer in the first inning. However, a Marist error paved the way for a four-run Manhattan second. Instead of ending the inning, the error put runners on first and second with two down. Starting pitcher Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) was up next, and she helped her own cause with an RBI double to center. Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) then belted a long three-run homer to center field that gave the Lady Jaspers a 4-2 lead.
Manhattan increased its advantage to 7-2 with a three-spot in the bottom of the fourth. Monica Evangelista (Cedar Grove, N.J.) got the rally started with a single down the left field line and Carla Velasquez (Miami, Fla.) followed with a single to right. After Sullivan bunted the runners over, Walraven walked to load the bases. Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) followed with a single up the middle that drove in a pair of runs. Another run was forced home when Melissa Donnelly (Long Beach, N.Y.) drew a bases loaded walk.
The Red Foxes immediately got those three runs back, however, as Megan Lamoureux belted a two-run homer and Klemmer slamed her second home run of the game in the top of the fifth. Marist added an unearned tally off reliever Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.) in the sixth to cut Manhattan's lead to one, 7-6.
Needing an insurance run, the Lady Jaspers got two in the bottom of the sixth. Leading off the inning, Walraven beat out a bunt to third base for an infield single. Rampino then crushed a home run to left field to give Manhattan a 9-6 cushion. Marist loaded the bases with two down in the top of the seventh, but Rampino got Ashley Corriss, who had reached in all four of her previous plate appearances, to ground back to the circle, ending the game.
Walraven set the pace offensively in game one, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Bowen and Rampino both drove in a pair. Sullivan (8-6) went the first five innings in the circle to earn the win. She allowed five runs on six hits while striking out three and walking three. Rampino gave up just one unearned run and one hit over the final two innings to pick up her first save of the season. She walked four and struck out one.
Corriss went 3-for-4 and scored three times for the Red Foxes. Klemmer was 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and three RBIs, while Lamoureux collected two RBIs on her home run. Pitcher Emily Osterhaus (10-6) surrendered nine runs (five earned) and 10 hits, struck out for and walked six in six innings of work.
The second game nearly matched the first in level of excitement. Marist notched an unearned run in the top of the first, but the Lady Jaspers tied it when Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half of the inning. The Red Foxes immediately countered, however, regaining the lead on an RBI double by Sarah Carmody in the top of the second.
Manhattan pitching retired nine of the next 10 Marist hitters (with only a walk mixed in) following Carmody's double, but the Lady Jaspers' offense didn't break through until the bottom of the fourth. Rampino got things started with a single to right center, and she moved to second on Jen Keller's (Woodridge, N.J.) sacrifice bunt. After sending one just foul down the right field line, Evangelista delivered an RBI double to left center. Following a Melissa Cascio (Kings Park, N.Y.) walk and a wild pitch, Amanda Babcock (Haverstraw, N.Y.) put the Lady Jaspers in front with a two-run single through the right side.
That lead was short-lived, however, as Marist responded with a four-spot in the top of the fifth. After the first two runners reached, Nicole DiVirgilio drove in a run on a groundout. The Red Foxes regained the lead on Alyssa Zahka's line drive that went off Rampino's glove and ended up as a two-run single. Zahka scored on an RBI single by Danielle Koltz, but Haley Birnbaum was thrown out trying to go from first to third on the play. That killed the Marist rally, as after an infield single by Carmody, pinch hitter Lindsay Durant grounded out to end the inning.
Bowen came in to pitch in the sixth and retired the Red Foxes in order. Manhattan then regained the lead with five runs in the bottom half of the inning. The first three hitters of the inning all reached, and Walraven cut Marist's lead to one with an RBI single through the right side. Bowen then connected on a single to center that drove in two runs, putting the Lady Jaspers back in front. Michel added a pair of insurance tallies with a double to center. Bowen then worked around a leadoff single in the top of the seventh, striking out the final two hitters to finish off the 9-6 victory and doubleheader sweep.
Evangelista was the hitting star in game two, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Michel went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Bowen and Babcock each drove in a pair of runs. Donnelly got the start in the circle and went two innings. She allowed two runs (one earned), two hits and two walks. Rampino gave up four runs in three innings of work, while Bowen (3-1) tossed two shutout innings to pick up the win. She surrendered just one single and struck out two.
Lamoureux and Carmody both had a pair of hits for the Red Foxes, while Zahka collected three RBIs and Corriss scored twice. Paige Lewis (12-6) worked a complete game in the circle, yielding nine runs on 11 hits while striking out three and walking two.
The Lady Jaspers conclude their season-long six-game homestand on Wednesday, when Fairleigh Dickinson (20-15) comes to town for a 3 p.m. doubleheader.
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