PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Valiants struggled defensively in their final home game of the season, dropping the opening game of their series with conference foe Eastern University 8-5 Friday afternoon.
Manhattanville (23-13 overall, 12-7 MAC Freedom) committed five errors, leading to six unearned runs for Eastern (15-20-3 overall, 8-11 MAC Freedom).
Senior
Jordanis Nunez (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond) recorded three hits and sophomore
Danny Gallagher (Nanuet, N.Y./Paramus Catholic) posted two hits in the loss. Senior
Chris Lattarulo (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) drove in two runs and junior
Joe Anselmi (North Rockland, N.Y./North Rockland) blasted a two run homerun in the losing effort.
Eastern struck first in the top of the 3rd inning when Joe Grato singled home Jordan Laboy to make it a 1-0 game. The Valiants had a chance to level the score with the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom half of the frame, but senior
Chris Lattarulo (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) was caught trying to score on a wild pitch to end the inning.
The Eagles added two more in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead. Manhattanville took advantage of an Eastern miscue in their at bat however to cut the deficit to one run. After a dropped fly ball with two outs, Lattarulo drove in two runs with a double to left field to make it 3-2.
Eastern used stellar defense in the field and strong pitching to keep the Valiants scoreless. Manhattanville threatened several times, but two diving catches helped to strand 10 Valiant baserunners on the day.
The Valiants attempted a rally in the ninth inning, starting with a double off the center field wall from Nunez. The senior scored on a dropped fly ball and Anselmi blasted a homerun to cut the deficit to three runs. Junior
John Delahanty (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) doubled down the right field line but the magic ended there as Andrew Check worked out of the inning to secure the Eagle victory.
Manhattanville's miscues proved costly, as the five unearned runs proved to be too much to overcome as Manhattanville dropped the season opener 7-2. They will look to get back on track and win their sixth conference series of the season tomorrow when they travel to Eastern for the final two games of the three-game set.
