Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Manhattan College softball team continued its eight-game road trip with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) doubleheader at Rider on Saturday afternoon. Manhattan (18-12, 4-2 MAAC) posted a 9-1 win in the first game at Herb & Joan Young Field, but the Broncs (5-26, 2-6 MAAC) rallied to take the second contest by a 6-3 count to earn a split.
Manhattan took advantage of a Rider error to score three unearned runs in the first inning of game one. After the miscue put runners on first and second with two out, back-to-back walks to Lauren Pitney (Ansonia, CT) and Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, NY) put the Jaspers up 1-0. Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) then knocked in two with a single.
It was still 3-0 in the top of the fourth when Elena Bowman (San Mateo, CA) crushed her eight home run of the year, a three-run shot that doubled Manhattan's lead to 6-0. Manhattan added three more in the seventh, as Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, CT) led off the inning with a double, moved to second on a sacrifice, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Victoria Ross (Bloomfield, NJ). Puthe followed with an RBI single, then Madison Bailey (Phoenix, AZ) drove her in with a pinch-hit double down the right field line.
Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY), who had allowed just three hits thru the first three innings, surrendered a leadoff double to Dana Sensi in the seventh. She advanced to third on a Montana Berg single, and Emily Cottrell broke up the shutout with an RBI single to left. Matazinsky retired the next two hitters, though, to cap a 9-1 win.
Bowman finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Puthe also went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and she also scored a run. In addition to going 1-for-3 at the plate, Matazinsky (6-4) tossed a complete game in the circle, yielding one run on six hits while striking out three and walking one.
Cottrell and Berg combined for five of Rider's six hits. Cottrell was 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Berg ended up 2-for-3. Sensi finished 1-for-3 with a run scored. Megan Ailand (1-9) surrendered nine runs (six earned) on 10 hits, walked four and struck out one over seven innings of work.
After Manhattan didn't score in the top of the first in game two, Monica Clark led off the bottom half of the inning with a homer to right. Rider added another run when Berg drove in Sensi with a single.
However, the Jaspers immediately responded with two runs in the top of the second. An error started the inning before Reinhardt singled and Andi Stallard (Katy, Texas) followed with an RBI double. Manhattan then tied the game on Emily Cutler's (Bloomingdale, NJ) RBI single. The Jaspers went up 3-2 on Matazinsky's RBI double in the top of the third.
In the top of the fifth, the Jaspers loaded the bases with one out, but Rider got a pair of infield ground balls to escape the inning unscathed. The Broncs then took advantage of three Manhattan errors to put up four runs in the bottom half of the inning. The big blow during the rally was Sensi's go-ahead three-run double to right.
Rider pitcher Kaitlyn Kallert then retired the Jaspers in order in both the sixth and the seventh to preserve the Broncs' 6-3 victory. She recorded eight straight outs after Manhattan loaded the bases with one down in the fifth. Kallert (2-11) gave up three runs (two earned) and 10 hits while striking out two in a complete game effort.
Sensi finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs in game two. Berg went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Clark was 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
For the Jaspers, Vazquez and Matazinsky registered two hits apiece. Matazinsky also drove in a run. Stallard, meanwhile, went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Stephanie Kristo (San Jose, CA) started in the circle and tossed 0.2 innings. She gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits. Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, NJ) (2-3) took the loss after yielding three runs (two earned) on one hit with two strikeouts and a walk in 3.1 innings. Erin Hamm (Collegeville, PA) was charged with one unearned run and two hits in 0.1 innings before Anna Crowley (Eastchester, NY) finished up with 1.1 scoreless innings in which she allowed no hits and just one walk.
On Sunday, the Jaspers visit first-place Monmouth (18-13, 7-1 MAAC) for a 1 p.m. twinbill. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN3.