New Rochelle, NY - No. 6 Manhattan exploded for a season-high 11 runs and 13 hits en route to posting a 11-5 win over No. 3 Iona in the third and deciding game of the quarterfinal round of the 2021 MAAC Softball Championship.
* With the victory, the Jaspers advance to the next round of the MAAC Championship that will be contested at Canisius starting on Thursday, May 13.
* Manhattan struck first with an unearned run, before the Gaels tied it up at 1-1 with a third-inning home run.
* The Jaspers then registered five runs in the top of the fifth in reclaiming the lead at 6-1.
* Freshman Kristyn Smith (South Plainfield, NJ / Mount Saint Dominic Academy) led off with a walk and Lauren Rende (So., Ardsley, NY / Ardsley) followed with a single, before moving up a base on a fielding error. Junior Annie Moore (Northridge, CA / El Camino Field) then plated the pair with a two-run single up the middle, and advanced to second on the throw.
Annie Moore puts Manhattan up with a two-run single! pic.twitter.com/jYupnjitMk
— Manhattan Softball (@JaspersSoftball) May 9, 2021
* Moore advanced to third on a ground out, and would score on a single off the bat of senior Daniela Chiorazzi (Stony Point, NY / North Rockland).
Chiorazzi stretches the lead out to 4-1 here in the fifth! pic.twitter.com/kEZXZhlYkE
— Manhattan Softball (@JaspersSoftball) May 9, 2021
* Following a strikeout, sophomore Gabriella Mazzotta (Somers, NY / Somers) singled, and her along with Chiorazzi would come home to score on senior Victoria Alonso's (Stony Point, NY / North Rockland, NY) two-run, two-out single.
Alonso caps the five-frame with the two-out, two-run single!
— Manhattan Softball (@JaspersSoftball) May 9, 2021
Manhattan leads Iona 6-1 as we head to the bottom of the fifth!#JasperNation pic.twitter.com/aUleK4CvML
* With the Green & White still up 6-1 in the sixth, Iona rallied for four runs and trailed by just one with one out in the frame. However, sophomore Marika Deemer (Perrysburg, OH / Perrysburg) evaded further damage by inducing a pair of ground outs to end the frame.
* Manhattan immediately got those runs back while putting up another five-spot in the seventh inning. Chiorazzi reached via an error, graduate student Christine Gebhardt (Middletown, NJ / Middletown North) was plunked and Mazzotta reached via an infield single to load up the bases. Alonso followed with another big two-run single to push the advantage out to 8-5.
Alonso extends the lead out to 8-5 here in the top of the seventh with with a two-run single! pic.twitter.com/BwAfVyVO31
— Manhattan Softball (@JaspersSoftball) May 9, 2021
* Moore, like Alonso, would deliver her second two-run single of the afternoon with a big two-out knock in stretching the lead to 10-5.
(1/2) The hits keep coming and we are having trouble keeping up!
— Manhattan Softball (@JaspersSoftball) May 9, 2021
Moore with another big two-run hit! pic.twitter.com/NLJyqghN44
* Deemer would follow with a RBI single up the middle to provide the final 11-5 score, before getting the last three outs on the mound to close it out.
Put it in the ????????!#JasperNation pic.twitter.com/Zw71t3Gj9R
— Manhattan Softball (@JaspersSoftball) May 9, 2021
* Moore was 4-for-5 with four RBI, while Alonso went 2-for-4 with four RBI to lead the way on offense. Mazzotta also added two hits with two runs, and Deemer two hits to round out the multi-hit performers for a Jasper outfit that scored all 11 runs without the benefit of an extra-base hit.
(2/2) // Deemer caps the Jaspers' five-run frame with the RBI single!
— Manhattan Softball (@JaspersSoftball) May 9, 2021
Manhattan leads 11-5 with just three outs to go!#JasperNation pic.twitter.com/Rx927Dm6IS
* Rende set the table all afternoon for the Jaspers and scored a team-high three runs.
* Graduate student Nicole Williams (Ansonia, CT / St. Joseph's) was the beneficiary of the run support, striking out three while yielding four runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings in moving to 10-2 on the season.