Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – With two long balls in the second game of a doubleheader against Mount St. Mary's on Monday, Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) tied the Manhattan College softball program record for career home runs. Bowman, who has hit five homers in the last two days, tied Kiera Fox's mark with her 30th career blast in the sixth inning of the Jaspers' 14-7 game two victory over the Mountaineers (1-14). Manhattan (6-3) also took the first game at Gaelic Park by a 6-1 margin.
“I wasn't thinking about it,” Bowman said. “I was just trying to hit the ball hard and I figured it'd happen if it happened. And it happened, so I'm excited about that.”
Bowman hit a two-run shot that was just fair down the left field line in the fifth inning, then came up in the sixth with two out and two on. And she deposited a 1-1 pitch over the wall in center field for the record-tying blast. For the game, Bowman ended up 3-for-3 with two home runs, four runs scored and five RBIs.
The Jaspers jumped ahead with two runs in the first, but Mount St. Mary's put up a four-spot, highlighted by a Morgan Alisauckas three-run homer, in the top of the third to take a 4-2 lead.
However, Manhattan immediately countered with six runs in the bottom half of the inning. Bowman drew a walk to start the rally, then, after Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, Conn.) reached on an error, Sydney Weedon (North Tustin, Calif.) ripped a game-tying two-run double to right center. Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, N.Y.) followed with a bloop double to right, meaning Weedon could only advance to third. That didn't matter, though, as Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, N.Y.) and Meredith Bryant (Brielle, N.J.) both smacked RBI singles. Matazinsky scored on an Emily Cutler (Bloomingdale, N.J.) groundout before Mickayla Romero (Las Vegas, Nev.) made it 8-4 with an RBI double to left center.
Matazinsky started a three-run rally in the fifth with her first career home run, a line drive to center. Cutler then drew a walk and scored on the first of Bowman's two long balls. After Mount St. Mary's scored three in the top of the sixth, Bowman connected for her record-tying blast in her final at-bat of the homestand. The three-run dinger made it 14-7, and Anna Crowley (Eastchester, N.Y.) tossed a perfect ninth in her first pitching appearance this season to close out the victory.
As a team, Manhattan tallied 16 hits in game two, with every Jasper that came to the plate either scoring or driving in at least one run. Romero, Weedon, Matazinsky and Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.) had two hits apiece, while Matazinsky and Bryant also scored twice. Matazinsky (2-0) was the beneficiary of all that offense, as she picked up the win in the circle after yielding seven runs (six earned) on nine hits while striking out five and walking one in 5.2 innings of work. Erin Hamm (Collegeville, Pa.) got the final out of the sixth before Crowley finished up, picking up a strikeout in a 1-2-3 seventh.
Alisauckas went 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBIs for the Mountaineers, while Niki Gonzalez also tallied two hits and Rachel Gavigan knocked in a pair of runs. Sam Lichtner (0-3) started in the circle and took the loss. She surrendered 11 runs (eight earned) on 13 hits and eight walks in five innings. Danni Cummings pitched the sixth, giving up three runs and three hits while also recording a strikeout.
In game one, the Jaspers jumped ahead early with a five-spot in the bottom of the second. Paxson led off the inning with a single before Weedon and Andi Stallard (Katy, Texas) both walked to load the bases. Reinhardt then cleared the bases with a double to the wall in left center. After Reinhardt stole third and Cutler walked, Manhattan scored its fourth run of the inning on a successful double steal. Cutler added another tally when she came across all the way from second on a Mount St. Mary's throwing error.
Another double steal of second and home led to Manhattan's sixth run of the opener. After Paxson ripped a one-out double to left and Weedon singled up the middle, Paxson scored on the back end of the double swipe to make it 6-0 Jaspers in the fifth. The Mountaineers got one in the top of the sixth, but Hamm worked around an error in the top of the seventh to put away a 6-1 Manhattan win.
For the Jaspers, Paxson finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored in game one. Reinhardt, meanwhile, collected three RBIs on her second-inning double. Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) (3-2) got the start in the circle and earned the win. She allowed three hits, struck out five and walked two in five shutout innings. Hamm went two innings in game one, surrendering one run on two hits while striking out one.
Mount St. Mary's also tallied five hits in game one, as Rachel Teti and Tori Belloc both finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Jessica Greenewald had the other Mountaineer hit, while Maria Santiago scored the only Mount St. Mary's run. In addition to recording her team's only RBI, Marian Ruf (1-6) went the distance in the circle. She was charged with six runs (five earned), five hits and six walks to go along with seven strikeouts.
Up next, Manhattan takes its four-game winning streak cross country for six contests in the San Francisco area, Bowman's hometown. The Jaspers visit Saint Mary's (9-18) for a single game at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday before participating in the Santa Clara Round Robin over the weekend.
“I'm really excited for my family to see me play, so hopefully I saved a little bit for them,” Bowman said. “More importantly, we're kind of on a roll here. Everybody's contributing. We're excited to see what we can do out there (in California).”