NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – On Sunday afternoon, the Manhattan College baseball team completed a three-game sweep in its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series of the season with a 2-0 victory over Iona (2-20, 0-3 MAAC) at City Park. Scott McClennan (Highland Mills, N.Y.) tossed a five-hit shutout for the Jaspers (9-9, 3-0 MAAC), who have won four in a row and six of their last seven.
Manhattan provided McClennan with all the offense he needed in the top of the third. Nick Camastro (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) drew a leadoff walk, but was erased when Kyle Murphy (Waterbury, Conn.) hit into a fielder's choice. Ramon Ortega (Miami, Fla.) was up next, and he drilled a double to the gap in left center that allowed Murphy to come home with the game's first run. The Jaspers added another tally in the fifth when Camastro smacked a leadoff double, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Aidan John O'Leary's (Portsmouth, N.H.) sacrifice fly.
McClennan, meanwhile, was cruising. He retired 10 straight Gaels between Matthew Kriss's infield single in the fourth and a two-out double by Matt Byrne in the seventh. The only Iona runner to reach third base in the game was Joe Torres in the first inning. Torres struck out leading off the bottom of the ninth, then, after a single by Bobby Vitulano, Jimmy Guiliano grounded out. Fittingly, McClennan retired the final batter himself, as Kriss bounced back to the mound, and McClennan flipped to Murphy to complete the gem.
The Jaspers recorded nine hits in the contest, led by three apiece from Camastro and Christian Santisteban (Miami, Fla.). Camastro went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a run scored, while Santisteban was 3-for-4 at the plate. Ortega added a pair of hits and an RBI. McClennan (2-1) struck out five and didn't walk a batter in the shutout.
Iona's five singles were spread among five different hitters. Starter Steve Basile (0-2) lasted five innings on the hill. He surrendered two runs on seven hits, struck out one and walked one. Matt Marley tossed four innings of shutout relief, yielding just two hits while striking out three and walking two.
Up next, the Jaspers make the short subway ride to Columbia (6-11) for a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Wednesday. The Lions have also won four straight.