Box Score
Manhattan-North Dakota State Box Score
DELAND, FL – On Friday afternoon, the Manhattan College began the Stetson Westin Invitational with a matchup against North Dakota State. The Jaspers (3-5) took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but the Bison (7-13) scored twice in the frame to walk-off with a 3-2 win at Patricia Wilson Field. Manhattan's second contest of the day against host Stetson (17-4) was suspended in the bottom of the sixth inning due to a power outage in the stadium.
Manhattan got on the board immediately against North Dakota State. Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) doubled on the first pitch of the game, moved to third on a groundout, and scored when Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY) reached on an error. After the Bison tied it in the second, the Jaspers went back in front with a two-run rally in the fourth. Victoria Ross (Bloomfield, NJ) and Kat Prevo (San Diego, CA) walked to set up Alexa Dawid (Milford, CT), who delivered an RBI single up the middle that made it 2-1.
North Dakota State put two runners on in the bottom of the fourth, but Stephanie Kristo (San Jose, CA) got out of the inning with a double play. Kristo was helped out by another double play in the sixth, as the Jaspers were able to double-off the runner at first on a line drive to second.
After Manhattan failed to score in the top of the seventh, Kristo hit Lauren Reimers leading off the bottom half of the inning. Stephanie Soriano then singled before Madyson Camacho bunted the runners over to second and third. Zoe Stavrou was up next, and she delivered a double to right center that gave North Dakota State a 3-2 victory.
Puthe and Dawid each had two of the Jaspers' seven hits in the contest. Puthe also scored a run, while Dawid contributed an RBI. Ross recorded the other Manhattan tally. Kristo (0-1) suffered a tough-luck loss. She was charged with three runs on eight hits while striking out four and walking three in 6.1 innings. Kayla McDermott (Garnerville, NY) came on in the seventh inning and allowed one hit.
Soriano, Stavrou and Bre Beatty all went 2-for-3 for the Bison. Overall, North Dakota State collected nine hits in the game. Stavrou had two RBIs, while Julia Luciano registered the other Bison RBI. KK Leddy (2-4) earned the win after yielding two runs on seven hits with five walks and four strikeouts.
Head Coach Tom Pardalis juggled the lineup for the Stetson game, and it paid immediate dividends. After the Hatters scored five runs in the top of the first, Manhattan responded with two in the bottom half of the inning. Puthe reached on an error, moved to second on a Dawid single, and scored on Christine Gebhardt's (Middletown, NJ) base hit to center. Dawid took third on the play, allowing her to score on a Matazinksy groundout.
The Jaspers added one more in the bottom of the second. Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, NY) and Ross started the inning with back-to-back walks before moving to second and third on a wild pitch. Puthe then ripped a one-out single up the middle to make it 5-3. After Dawid struck out, Gebhardt walked to load the bases. However, Lauren Pitney (Ansonia, CT) grounded out to end the inning.
Stetson increased its cushion to 7-3 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, and that was the score when the stadium lost power in the middle of the sixth inning. After a slight delay (which included a glow-in-the-dark football game between the two teams), the decision was made to suspend the contest until 9:15 a.m. on Saturday. Ross will be at the plate leading off the bottom of the sixth with Stetson leading 7-3 when the game resumes.
Immediately following the resumption of the Stetson game, the Jaspers will face North Dakota State again at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Manhattan will then take on Colgate (1-7) at 12:15 p.m.
