Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – For the first time in three years, the Manhattan College softball team will be playing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament. Needing just one win to clinch a spot, the Jaspers (22-25, 10-8 MAAC) took care of business right away, posting a 4-2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader with Fairfield (20-20, 15-5 MAAC) on Senior Day at Gaelic Park. The Stags took game two by an 8-0 margin.
“It was so awesome to clinch at home,” said senior Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.), who played in the final two home games of her career on Saturday. “We came into the weekend knowing that we just had to win one game, so we went out and took care of business right away.”
Bowen got the start in game one and gave up a run in the top of the first. Fairfield then added an unearned tally in the second.
The Jaspers tied the game with two runs in the third. After Emily Cutler (Bloomingdale, N.J.) and Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) walked, Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.) ripped a double to right center. Cutler scored easily, and the throw home was late, allowing Bowman to score the tying run. Paxson tried to take the extra base on the play, but was gunned down at third to end the inning.
In the fourth, Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, Conn.) smacked a leadoff single and moved to second on Andi Stallard's (Katy, Texas) sacrifice bunt. Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, N.Y.) was up next, and she ripped a double to left center that put the Jaspers in front 3-2.
Fairfield put a runner on in both the fifth and sixth innings, but solid defense helped Bowen get out of the jam each time. Gianna Kinhofer, who had led off with a single, was thrown out trying to advance to third on Sammy Ruffalo's groundout in the fifth, and Lauren Filicia was caught stealing to end the top of the sixth.
Vazquez then gave the Jaspers an insurance tally in the bottom of the sixth when she smashed a home run to center field. All nine of Vazquez's long balls this year have come at home. Bowen then retired the Stags in order in the seventh, wrapping up the 4-2 victory and securing Manhattan's first trip to the postseason since 2011.
“We went to MAACs my freshman year, and it's so amazing to come full circle,” Bowen said. “This is such an amazing group of girls. I'm proud to be a part of this team.”
Reinhardt and Vazquez both went 2-for-3 with an RBI in game one, and Vazquez also scored two runs. Paxson, meanwhile, was 1-for-3 with two runs scored. In addition to going 1-for-3 at the plate, Bowen (11-6) went the distance in the circle. She yielded two runs (one earned) on five hits, struck out four and walked two.
The Stags were held to just five hits in game one, with Lauren Filicia finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI. Kristen Filicia was 1-for-2 with a run scored. Rae Ball (12-8) tossed all six innings, allowing four runs on six hits with six walks and two strikeouts.
After Bowen was honored in the Senior Day ceremonies between games, Fairfield quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second contest. The Stags scored three times in the top of the second, as Nikki Osofsky ripped an RBI single and Kristen Filicia followed with a two-run double. Fairfield added another run in the fourth on Shelby Butwell's solo home run.
That proved to be more than enough offense for Rebecca Trott, who only let four Jaspers reach base in the contest. Mickayla Romero (Las Vegas, Nev.) reached on an infield single to start the bottom of the third, and Manhattan put two runners on base when Bowen drew a walk. However, Bowman grounded out to end the inning. Manhattan's only other hit in the contest was a two-out single by Paxson in the sixth that barely stayed fair along the third base line.
In the top of the seventh, the Stags doubled their lead to 8-0. Lauren Liseth drove in two runs with a single to left field, and Kinhofer followed by smacking a two-run homer to center field.
The infield singles by Paxson and Romero were the only Manhattan hits in game two. Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) (8-14) went the first four innings in the circle. She surrendered four runs on eight hits, struck out three and walked one. Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, N.J.) allowed four runs, five hits and two walks in three innings of relief.
For the Stags, who collected 13 hits in game two, Butwell finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Kinhofer was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Liseth went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Lauren Filicia also ended up 2-for-4 with a run scored. Trott (6-10) retired 21 of the 25 batters she faced in a complete-game victory. She gave up two hits and walked two while striking out eight.
Manhattan will be either the No. 5 or 6 seed in the MAAC Tournament, which gets underway on Wednesday at Fairfield. The Jaspers' seed will be determined on Sunday, when they conclude the regular season by visiting Monmouth (19-19, 10-8 MAAC) at 1 p.m. If Manhattan sweeps the doubleheader, the Jaspers will be the No. 5 seed.