May 4, 2013
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Lafayette baseball team dropped a pair of tight ballgames to Manhattan in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Van Cortlandt Park. The Jaspers took the first game by a final of 3-2, before winning 3-0 in the second contest.
In game one, Lafayette jumped on Manhattan early with a pair of first inning runs after Andrew Santomauro and Kevin Casey set the table with consecutive base hits to start the game. Santomauro singled before Casey dropped a double down the left field line, before Andrew Ruck flied out for the first out of the inning. Cleanup hitter Scott Kelleher came to the plate with the pair in scoring position and delivered with an RBI base knock to left, chasing home Santomauro. The Leopards added a second run off Manhattan starter John Soldinger, when Zach Gross grounded out to third in the next at-bat.
Leading 2-0, Lafayette's lefty Connor Ortolf surrendered a leadoff double to Nick Camastro before a sacrifice and RBI ground ball cut the Leopards' lead in half.
The score held at 2-1 in favor of Lafayette (9-40) until the seventh inning as Ortolf and Soldinger combined to give up five hits over the next six innings of scoreless baseball. Lafayette had a chance to add to its lead in the top of the seventh when it put runners on second and third with one away, but Soldinger escaped trouble with a strikeout of Casey and Ruck's lineout to shortstop.
Manhattan (21-24) took advantage of the missed opportunity and plated the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the seventh. Facing Andrew Gorecki with two down and the bases loaded, Farina surrendered a base hit through the right side that brought home two runs, giving Manhattan a 3-2 edge.
Following a quiet eighth, Lafayette had a chance to tie the game, but James McCool was gunned down at the plate on Santomauro's single to end the game.
In the seven-inning nightcap, the Leopards were held to two hits and lost to the Jaspers by a final of 3-0 as Jacob Marchus tossed a shutout for the home team.
The Jaspers plated two unearned runs in the third inning against Lafayette left-hander Toby Schwartz, and a third tally their next time up to take a 3-0 lead through four innings. Schwartz gave up nine base hits in his 4.2 innings of work before giving way to Connor McMahon out of the bullpen. McMahon tossed 1.1 scoreless frames and held Manhattan without a base hit.
On the other side, Marchus was stellar and frustrated the Lafayette offense throughout the afternoon, yielding just two base hits to Parker Hills and Andrew Landolfi. Marchus retired 21 of the 24 batters he faced, striking out seven and walking two in the victory. He also took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Hills' one-out double broke up the no-hit bid.
Lafayette completes the three-game series and its 2013 season tomorrow afternoon at Kamine Stadium when it hosts Manhattan. First pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m. following Senior Day festivities on the field prior to the start of the game.
