Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – On Sunday afternoon, the Manhattan College softball team took on defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champion Marist in its final home conference doubleheader of the season. The Jaspers (26-14, 10-4 MAAC) took the first contest at Gaelic Park by an 8-6 count before the Red Foxes (26-17, 6-6 MAAC) claimed a 5-3, eight-inning victory in game two.
Game one was a back-and-forth affair. Marist scored an unearned run in the top of the second before the Jaspers responded with a three-spot in the bottom half of the inning. After the Jaspers loaded the bases with nobody out, Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, NY) lifted a sacrifice fly to right that tied it at 1-1. Victoria Ross (Bloomfield, NJ) then gave Manhattan the lead with a two-run single to left.
Marist went back in front, 5-3, with four runs in the top of the fourth. The Jaspers immediately responded, though, scoring three runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth. After Reinhardt singled and Ross walked to start the inning, they both came across when Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) beat out a bunt single and the throw went into right field. Alexa Dawid (Milford, CT) followed with a single to left, then Lauren Pitney (Ansonia, CT) ripped an RBI double to center that put Manhattan up 6-5.
After the Red Foxes tied it on Brandi Coon's RBI single in the top of the fifth, the Jaspers regained their advantage with a pair of runs in the sixth. Ross led off the inning with a walk, stole second and moved to third on a Puthe single. Puthe advanced to second on the throw, and the runners were both there with two out when Pitney sent a chopper back to the pitcher. The ball was misplayed, allowing Ross to score, then Puthe came across when the throw the first was wild.
With the Jaspers now leading 8-6, Kayla McDermott (Garnerville, NY) closed out the victory by retiring the Red Foxes in order in the seventh. McDermott (3-2) pitched three-plus innings of shutout relief, giving up just one hit and one walk while also recording a strikeout. Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY) got the start in the circle and yielded six runs (four earned) on eight hits while striking out one and walking one in four innings.
Puthe was 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, while Ross reached base all three times she came up, finishing 1-for-1 with two walks, two RBIs and two runs scored. Pitney and Reinhardt, meanwhile, each went 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.
For Marist, Coon finished 2-for-2 with a run scored and three RBIs. Gabrielle Kelliher, meanwhile, went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Starting pitcher Jessica Van Alphen lasted three innings in the circle. She surrendered six runs (three earned) on four hits, struck out four and walked three. Megan Beiermeister (8-4) took the loss after allowing two unearned runs on four hits in three innings. She was credited with four strikeouts and charged with one walk.
In game two, the Jaspers got on the board first when Ross drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the second before Marist countered with two in the top of the fourth. Manhattan immediately responded, though, tying the game in the bottom of the fourth. Ross started the rally with a dribbler down the third base line, stole second, and scored on Puthe's double to right. The Jaspers then took a 3-2 lead when Pitney led off the fifth with a long home run to left center.
The Red Foxes tied it on Rebecca Freeman's bases loaded walk in the top of the sixth, after which Nicole Williams (Ansonia, CT), who had been relieved in the fourth, returned to the circle with the bases still full. She induced a ground ball to third, and Ross made a great play to get the out and end the inning. After neither side was able to push across a run in the seventh, the contest moved into extra innings.
Williams gave up a two-run home run to Janna Korak in the top of the eighth, giving the Red Foxes a 5-3 lead. Matazinsky led off the bottom of the eighth with a double to center field before being erased when Marist second baseman turned Dominique Palagruto's (Sewell, NJ) line drive into a double play. Reinhardt drew a walk to keep Manhattan alive, but Ross struck out to end the 5-3 Marist victory.
Christine Gebhardt (Middletown, NJ) and Matazinsky each had two hits in the game, while Gebhardt also scored a run. Ross finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, and Pitney's home run was part of a 1-for-4 day. Puthe, meanwhile, finished 1-for-3 with an RBI. Williams (7-6) took the loss after yielding four runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in 5.2 innings. Stephanie Kristo (San Jose, CA) pitched 2.1 innings and was charged with one run on four hits to go along with two strikeouts and two walks.
As a team, the Red Foxes collected 11 hits in game two. Korak finished 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, while Rebecca Freeman was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Casey Page went 2-for-5 with a run scored, and Kourtney Paul also collected two hits. Jayne Oberdorf (4-3) tossed a complete game in the circle. She allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits, struck out five and walked three.
Manhattan concludes its home schedule on Wednesday with a 3 p.m. doubleheader against Columbia (19-23). The Jaspers earned a 9-1 victory over the Lions at the Stetson Westin Invitational on March 12.