Jaspers Go 2-0 on Day One of Stetson Tourney

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

DeLand, FL - Manhattan softball picked up two wins in the Stetson Invitational on Friday, March 9, shutting out UT Martin 6-0 in the first game, then topping tournament host Stetson 9-2 on Friday night.

Senior Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY / Tamarac) got the win against UT, holding the Skyhawks to just four hits. The teams were tied at zero-all going into the top of the sixth inning, when freshman Adriana Gambino (Stamford, CT / Westhill) singled to left field, advancing Matazinsky, who would then score on a errant throw by the UT catcher. That break in scoring spurred the Jaspers to two more runs in the inning. 

Still leading 3-0 going into the top of the seventh, junior Lauren Pitney (Ansonia, CT / St. Joseph's) homered to left center to make it 4-0. She was followed by a homer from freshman Daniela Chiorazzi (Stony Point, NY / North Rockland) that put Manhattan up 5-0. Later in the inning, freshman Emma Kindblom (Wilbraham, MA / Wilbraham and Monson Academy) would bat in a runner to finish the Jasper scoring at 6-0.

Four Jaspers had two hits in the game, helping Manhattan to 14 total. Matazinsky, who now has the team's lowest ERA at 2.08, completed the game for her second win of the season. 

Unlike the first game, scoring opened in the top of the first in the Jaspers' second match-up, with Stetson grabbing a 1-0 lead on the Jaspers early. But Manhattan answered right back with a Christine Gebhardt (Middletown, NJ / Middletown North) home run that tied the game in the bottom of the inning. The Jaspers took the lead in the third, when Matazinksy reached on an error, scoring Gebhardt. The game was tied once more in the fifth. 

Then the Jaspers' bats really came alive, scoring seven runs in the sixth. The Manhattan offense was punctuated by a grand slam from Chiorazzi, her third home run of the season. Through Friday, she leads Manhattan in RBIs this season with 11 of the teams' 46.

On the mound, Nicole Williams (Ansonia, CT / Saint Joseph's ) took the win  for Manhattan. 

Up Next:
The Jaspers play one Stetson Invitational game on Saturday, March 10, facing Holy Cross at 1:30 p.m.