Manhattan University Athletics

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

JERSEY CITY, NJ – For the first time in 23 years, the Manhattan College softball team has won 30 games.  The Jaspers also set a program record for Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) victories by sweeping a doubleheader at Saint Peter's on Saturday.  Manhattan (30-19, 14-6 MAAC) took the first game 11-0 in five innings, then notched an 8-3 triumph over the Peacocks (0-41, 0-18 MAAC) in the second contest at Jaroschak Field.

This is the fourth 30-win season in program history, and the first since 1993.  In addition, the 14 conference victories are one more than the previous mark, set last season.

After a scoreless first, the Jaspers erupted for seven runs in the second inning of game two.  Alexa Dawid (Milford, CT) drew a one-out walk and Anna Crowley (Eastchester, NY) followed with an RBI double before Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, NY) crushed a two-run homer to straightaway center field.  Emily Cutler (Bloomingdale, NJ) and Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) each singled, then Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, CT) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY).  And she belted a grand slam to center that put Manhattan up 7-0.

The Jaspers added three more in the third.  Cutler led off the inning with a single, then Puthe and Elena Bowman (San Mateo, CA) both walked before Vazquez was hit by a pitch, forcing in a run.  Matazinsky came up with the bases loaded again, and she picked up another RBI on a fielder's choice to short.  After Lauren Pitney (Ansonia, CT) was hit by a pitch to load the bases once more, Dawid lifted a sacrifice fly to left that made it 10-0.

With two out in the top of the fourth, Head Coach Tom Pardalis sent Meredith Bryant (Brille, NJ) up to pinch hit for Puthe.  Bryant promptly crushed the first pitch she saw over the left field fence for her first career long ball, extending Manhattan's lead to 11-0.

Matazinsky (11-6) was the beneficiary of all that offense.  She only allowed one Saint Peter's base runner to reach third base and gave up just three hits in her second consecutive shutout.  Matazinsky struck out three and walked four.  After notching just two shutouts over their first 45 games, the 11-0 triumph was the Jaspers' third in a row, with all three shortened by the run rule.

Offensively, Matazinsky finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and five RBIs.  Puthe was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.  She also stole three bases.  Cutler ended up 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while Reinhardt collected a pair of RBIs on her home run.

Crystal Carlucci had a double for the Peacocks, with Nicole Feoli and Jackie Riley recording the other hits.  Riley (0-9) also got the start in the circle and took the loss.  She went 4.1 innings, yielding eight runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks.  Alyssa Ruiz and Sydney Ramsey each threw 0.1 innings of relief.  Ruiz surrendered two runs on two hits and three walks, while Ramsey walked one and was charged with one run.

In game two, Manhattan scored twice in the top of the first.  Puthe led off with an infield single, stole second and took third on an error before Vazquez knocked her in with a single.  Pitney then sent a double to the wall in center, driving in Vazquez and giving the Jaspers a 2-0 advantage.  Manhattan added another one on Bowman's RBI single in the top of the second.  Saint Peter's got on the board in the bottom of the second, ending a streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings by Jaspers pitchers.

Manhattan left the bases loaded in the third before extending its cushion to 6-1 with three runs in the fourth.  Puthe once again got the rally started with a leadoff double.  She scored on Matazinsky's single up the middle.  After walks to Pitney and Dawid loaded the bases with two out, two came across on a Saint Peter's error.  The Jaspers made it 7-1 in the fifth when Bowman singled home Puthe, who had tripled.

Saint Peter's finally got to Manhattan starter Erin Hamm (Collegeville, PA) in the bottom of the sixth.  After a leadoff walk to Feoli, three straight Peacocks singled, resulting in two runs and cutting the Jaspers' lead to 7-3.  Pardalis then turned to Crowley, and she gave up a fly ball to left to the first batter she faced.  Dawid made a nice catch just in front of the warning track, then Crowley got a popup and a strikeout to end the threat.

A Bowman sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh extended the margin to 8-3, and Crowley retired the Peacocks in order in the bottom half of the inning to lock down her MAAC-leading sixth save of the season.  The victory, the Jaspers' ninth straight in conference play, extended Manhattan's winning streak to a season-long six games.

Puthe finished a home run shy of the cycle in game two.  She ended up 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a stolen base, her fourth of the day and 26^th of the season.  Bowman went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Pitney was 2-for-2 with two runs, a run scored and an RBI.  Cutler, meanwhile, scored a pair of runs.  Hamm (8-2) earned the win after allowing three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and a walk in five-plus innings.  Crowley retired all six batters she faced in her two-inning stint, including two strikeouts.

Lee Harrison went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored for the Peacocks.  Candice Koch was 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Feoli and Carlucci each finished 1-for-2 with a run scored.  Starter Noea Pizana (0-5) lasted 1.1 innings in the circle.  She yielded three runs on five hits and walked one.  Carlucci was effective in 5.2 innings of relief.  She surrendered five runs (three earned) on seven hits, walked four and struck out two. 

Also on Saturday, Marist split a twinbill with Canisius to clinch the No. 1 seed and home field advantage in the MAAC Tournament.  Manhattan will be seeded either second or third next week in Poughkeepsie.