Manhattan University Athletics

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

NEW YORK – Behind a four-hit shutout from Kayla McDermott (Garnerville, NY) in the nightcap, the Manhattan College softball team (27-15) earned a doubleheader split at Columbia (20-24) on Wednesday.  The Jaspers' 6-0 victory in game two came after the Lions notched a 10-2 triumph in the opener at Columbia Softball Stadium.  The twinbill was originally scheduled for Gaelic Park, but was moved to Columbia's campus due to a field issue.

McDermott gave up two singles in the first inning before getting out of the jam with a grounder to first.  Columbia again put two runners after a leadoff double and a one-out error in the third, but McDermott retired 11 straight Lions from then until another leadoff double in the seventh.  She ended the contest herself on a grounder back to the circle.

Lauren Pitney (Ansonia, CT) provided McDermott with all the offense she needed with a long two-run homer in the bottom of the first (since Manhattan was still considered the “home” team, the Jaspers batted second in both contests).  The Jaspers then added two more in the fourth, as Pitney drew a leadoff walk and moved to second when Christine Gebhardt (Middletown, NJ) beat out a sacrifice bunt for an infield single.  Dominique Palagruto (Sewell, NJ) knocked in Pitney with a double off the wall in left, and Gebhardt came around on Maddie Colombo's (Los Gatos, CA) line drive single to third.

Manhattan increased its advantage to 6-0 with a pair of runs in the sixth.  Gebhardt reached on a dropped third strike to start the inning, and Kat Prevo (San Diego, CA) followed with an RBI double to left center.  Colombo then drove a two-out single to right that gave the Jaspers a six-run cushion, which was more than enough for their pitcher.

The shutout was Manhattan's 11^th of the season, and McDermott (4-2) became the fourth different Jasper to throw a scoreless complete game.  She struck out four and didn't issue a walk in the victory.  Offensively, Colombo led the way with two hits and two RBIs.  Pitney finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Gebhardt went 1-for-3 with two runs scored.  Prevo, meanwhile, ended up 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.

Bonnie Schipper and Kerry Cook had the two doubles for Columbia.  Tonia Wu (2-6) went the distance in the circle, allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits with eight strikeouts and two walks.

In game one, Columbia struck for a pair of runs in the top of the first before the Jaspers got one back on Pitney's RBI single in the bottom half of the inning.  However, the Lions scored three runs in the third (two of which came on back-to-back solo homers) and added another in the fourth.  After Olivia Parker's RBI single made it 7-1 in the fifth, Columbia extended its cushion to 10-1 on Alexandra Yule's three-run double in the top of the sixth.

With the Jaspers needing two runs to keep the game going, Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) led off the bottom of the sixth with a base hit up the middle.  After a pair of strikeouts, Pitney drew a walk before Gebhardt roped an RBI single that made it 10-2.  However, the next batter, Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY) grounded out, ending the contest and giving Columbia a 10-2 win.

Pitney had two of Manhattan's four hits in the game, while Puthe scored both Jasper runs.  Gebhardt's RBI single in the seven was the only other Manhattan hit.  Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, NJ) made her first start of the season in the circle and took the loss.  She yielded five runs (four earned) on seven hits and struck out two in 2.1 innings before giving way to Stephanie Kristo (San Jose, CA), who gave up five runs (four earned0 on seven hits with four walks and a strikeout in 3.2 innings of relief.

Sommer Grzybek finished a triple short of the cycle for the Lions.  She finished 4-for-4 with a homer, two doubles, three runs scored and two RBIs.  Madison Gott went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, while Madison Gott was 2-for-4 with a homer, an RBI and two runs scored.  Schipper and Parker each added two hits for Columbia, and Jordan Townsend crossed the plate twice.  Madison Canby (12-10) tossed a complete game in the circle, surrendering two runs on four hits while striking out five and walking two.