Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
Photo Gallery
RIVERDALE, NY – After having its Senior Day doubleheader delayed a day by rain, the Manhattan College softball team sent the Class of 2016 out in style on Monday afternoon. The Jaspers (26-19, 10-6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) notched a 5-3 victory over Quinnipiac (21-26, 6-8 MAAC) in the opener of the twinbill at Gaelic Park, then one of those seniors—Andi Stallard (Katy, TX) delivered the game-winning hit in the fifth inning of the nightcap, a 3-2 triumph.
Manhattan had been held to one hit and trailed 2-0 after four innings in game two. Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY) led off the fifth with an infield single, and she moved to second on a throwing error. After Alexa Dawid (Milford, CT) reached on an error, pinch hitter Victoria Ross (Bloomfield, NJ) deposited a single to left that tied the game. Stallard was then called upon to pinch hit, and she sent the first pitch she saw into center field. She was thrown out trying to advance to second on the hit, but not before Ross scored the go-ahead run.
Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, NJ) worked around a pair of hits in the sixth before giving way to another senior, Anna Crowley (Eastchester, NY). Crowley retired the Bobcats in order in the seventh to record her fifth save of the season and cap Manhattan's 3-2 victory.
Gabriel (5-4) earned the win after tossing 3.2 shutout innings. She gave up three hits and one walk while striking out three. Starting pitcher Erin Hamm (Collegeville, PA) went 2.1 innings and surrendered two runs on four hits and two walks. Matazinsky, meanwhile, had two of the Jaspers' five hits in the contest.
Quinnipiac jumped in front with two runs in the top of the third, but left the bases loaded. The Bobcats would only collect three more hits the rest of the game, two of which were infield singles. Sarah Heimbach finished 3-for-3 with a run scored, while Abby Johnson was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Casey Herzog (10-12) tossed a complete game in the circle and took the loss. She allowed three unearned runs on five hits and struck out six without issuing a walk.
Between games of the twinbill, Manhattan held its Senior Day ceremony honoring its nine-member graduating class. The festivities immediately followed the Jaspers' 5-3 win in the opening contest.
The offense got going immediately in game one, as Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) led off the bottom of the first with an infield single, stole second, and scored on Elena Bowman's (San Mateo, CA) RBI double down the left field line.
Puthe and Bowman were at the heart of another Manhattan rally in the third. Puthe delivered another leadoff single, then stole second base, opening up first for Bowman. However, as the Bobcats tried to intentionally walk her, a pitch got away from the catcher, allowing Puthe to take third. Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, CT) was up next, and she lifted a sacrifice fly to right that put Manhattan up 2-0. Matazinsky, the Jaspers' game one starter, helped her own cause with a three-run homer to left in the fifth.
In the top of the sixth, Quinnipiac broke through for a run, snapping Matazinsky's 15-inning scoreless streak. The Bobcats then pulled within 5-3 on Sydney Robey's two-run single in the seventh. However, with the tying run on base and two out, she got Keilani Finley on a grounder back to the circle, sealing the win for Manhattan.
Matazinsky (9-6) pitched a complete game, yielding three runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and one walk. She also went 2-for-3 at the plate, notching a double to go along with her three-run homer. Puthe, meanwhile, finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, and Bowman's RBI double was the Jaspers' only other hit in the contest.
Erin Larsen went 3-for-3 with an RBI for the Bobcats, while Robey was 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Robey (8-11) also got the start in the circle and took the loss. She was charged with five runs (four earned) on five hits while striking out six and walking four over five innings of work. Kendall Brundrett pitched the sixth and allowed one hit.
With the two victories, Manhattan guaranteed itself a winning record for the second consecutive season. The Jaspers also moved closer to securing a place in next week's MAAC Tournament. Manhattan is currently fourth in the MAAC standings, two games ahead of sixth-place Niagara, with four to play.
On Wednesday, the Jaspers will play their final home doubleheader of the season against Iona (11-29, 5-9 MAAC) at 3 p.m. The Gaels have won eight of the last nine meetings between the schools, including four straight, with Manhattan's only victory during that span coming in the first game of the 2014 MAAC Tournament championship round.