Survive & Advance! No. 6 Manhattan Eliminates No. 3 Monmouth 8-1

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Wappingers Falls, NY - All nine regulars hit safely as No. 3 Manhattan pounded out 16 hits en route to posting a decisive 8-1 win over No. 6 Monmouth in an elimination game of the 2016 MAAC Championships at Dutchess Stadium.

The Jaspers will next face No. 2 Siena in another elimination game on Friday, May 27 at 3:30 pm in game eight of the tourney.

Junior LHP Joe Jacques (Shrewsbury, NJ / Red Bank Regional) was outstanding on the mound, finishing with four strikeouts over 9.0 innings in a complete game masterpiece. The hard-throwing Jacques (5-4) retired 16-straight at one point and the minimum 19 hitters over the final 6.1 innings in collecting his fifth-straight victory.

Manhattan opened the scoring with four runs in the second inning while sending 10 batters to the plate. Freshman Richie Barrella (Larchmont, NY / Canterbury Prep) and sophomore Michael Pfenninger (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central) led off with singles before scoring on junior Jason Patnick's (Hopewell, NJ / IMG Academy (FL)) two-run triple to the gap in right center. Sophomore Adam Genners (Jacksonville, FL / Stanton College Prep) later drew a one-out walk and would advance to second with Patnick scoring on senior Chris Reynolds' (Wall, NJ / St. Rose) bunt single. Junior Jose Carrera (Miami, FL / St. Brendan) followed with a RBI single back up the middle to plate Genners and cap the Jaspers' four-run frame.

Monmouth got one run back in the bottom of the third inning in trimming the deficit to 4-1, taking advantage of a Manhattan fielding error.

The Jaspers then put the game away with a four-run fifth inning in opening up an insurmountable 8-1 advantage. Senior Christian Santisteban (Miami, FL / Gulliver Prep) was plunked leading off the frame before advancing to third on a Fabian Pena (Fr., Miami, FL / Calusa Prep) single. After Santisteban was erased on a fielder's choice grounder, Pfenninger laced a  with a two-run double to score Pena and Barrella. Patnick followed with a hard-hit single to plate Pfenninger before Genners then completed the scoring with a RBI single.

That would be more than enough for Jacques, who after allowing two-out walk in the third was nearly unhittable the rest of the way. The Garden State native allowed just four balls to leave the infield the over his final six innings of work while also registering 12 ground ball outs.

Patnick led a 16-hit attack, going 2-for-5 with a triple, three RBI, two runs and a stolen base while Pfenninger also turned in a 2-for-5 performance with a double, two RBI and two runs. Carrera and Santisteban also each added three hits while Barrella rounded out the multi-hit performers with a pair of singles and two runs.

Grant Lamberton, Pete Papcun and Dan Shea all had singles to pace the Hawks.

Tomorrow's game will be streamed live through MAAC.tv for a nominal fee by clicking HERE with live stats available by clicking HERE.