POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Marist used an eight-run third inning to pull away for an 11-6 victory in the seven-inning opening game on Saturday afternoon. In game two, Manhattan mounted a four-run ninth-inning rally to cut its deficit to 8-7 but the Red Foxes got the final out of the game to complete the series sweep.
Game 1 Recap | Box Score
Manhattan scored twice in the second inning of the seven-inning opener. Mikey Miranda's RBI double plated Evan Brown, who was hit by a pitch and stole a base with one out. Yoandry Galan singled on the first pitch he saw to put runners at the corners and Jose Carrera's sacrifice fly scored Miranda to make it 2-0 Jaspers.
In the bottom of the third, Manhattan sitll led 2-0. Marist plated eight runs after there were two outs, benefitting from two bases on balls and a hit by pitch that scored runs. The Red Foxes racked up five hits in the frame and held an 8-2 lead after three.
In the fourth, Brown cracked a one-out triple and scored on Miranda's run-scoring groundout to make it 8-3. The Jaspers cut the deficit to 8-5 in the sixth, getting the tying run to the plate with runners at second and third and two outs, but Marist closer Ryan Thomas got the final out of the frame on a comebacker to escape any more damage.
Trailing 11-5 in the seventh after Marist scored three times in the sixth, Manhattan got one back in its final at-bat. Christian Santisteban stroked a leadoff double the other way and Brendan Slattery singled to start the frame. Joe McClennan drove in Santisteban on a groundout and Thomas was able to retire the next two men to finish off the 11-6 victory for Marist.
Game 2 Recap | Box Score
Game two starters William Fabra and Jordan Eich matched zeroes for the first two innings before the Red Foxes took a 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the third.
Manhattan mustered only one hit over the first six innings, but cut its deficit in half in the sixth. Without the benefit of a hit, the Jaspers made it a 2-1 game on Jason Patnick's RBI groundout to score Chris Reynolds, who had drawn a one-out walk.
Fabra worked around a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth, allowing the Jaspers to take their first lead of the game in the top of the seventh. Joe McClennan started the rally with a leadoff single and moved to second base on Evan Brown's sacrifice. McClennan came home to tie the game on an error. Two batters later, Chris Reynolds drove a double down the right field line to score the go-ahead run, giving Manhattan a 3-2 lead in the seventh.
Marist tied the game 3-3 in the seventh as Casey Meyers left the go-ahead run on third base to end the inning. The Red Foxes then broke through with five runs in the eighth, sparked by Joey Aiola's run-scoring single to give Marist the lead.
Trailing 8-3 in the ninth, Manhattan again came back. After Marist's Sean Keenan got the first out of the inning, he hit two straight batters and a third reached on an error to load the bases.
Jose Carrera singled to make it an 8-4 game and Chris Kalousdian's RBI groundout pushed another run across to make it 8-5 as Manhattan had runners at second and third base for Patnick. Down 1-2 in the count and facing the closer Thomas, Patnick singled back through the middle to bring home a pair, putting the Jaspers within reach at 8-7. Thomas plunked Santisteban with his first pitch to push the tying run into scoring position but he beared down to retire McClennan on a groundout to end it.
Manhattan is back in action on Tuesday, April 22 against NYIT at Van Cortlandt Park. First pitch is at 3:30 p.m.
NOTES:
Evan Brown scored three runs in the first game ... Yoandry Galan and Chris Reynolds each scored two runs in game two ... Chris Kalousdian, Christian Santisteban and Brendan Slattery each collected two base hits in the opener ... Jose Carrera was 3-for-8 in the doubleheader and stole three bases ... Carrera is 16-for-16 in stolen base attempts this season ... William Fabra allowed two runs on five hits in six innings ... Fabra has allowed just two earned runs in his last 18 innings pitched.