BRONX, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College baseball team, playing its 2020 home opener at Houlihan Park on the campus of Fordham University Sunday evening, March 8, picked up the 10-2 victory over John Jay College. Sophomore Tyler Viscusi (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) helped the Valiants even out their record by picking up his first win of the season in the start, going 5.0 innings with three strikeouts and two allowed. Junior Jack Matero (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) swung the bat well, going 3-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored.
 
The Valiants (5-5) fell behind in the top half of the second against the Bloodhounds (1-9) on a sacrifice fly. However, the home team scratched across three runs in the bottom half of the second to take the 3-1 lead, one the squad would never relinquish.
 
Senior Peter Iannarilli (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) led off the inning with a walk and was immediately plated the following at-bat when junior Hathaway Roper (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) knocked an RBI-triple to left centerfield. Roper crossed home on the next at-bat thanks to a run-scoring single up the middle from senior Joseph Silvestri (Bronx, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) to give Manhattanville the lead. The fourth-year catcher eventually made his way home following a passed ball, a ground out and a run-scoring wild pitch. The Valiants got one more in the bottom of the fourth when Roper reached of a bases loaded fielder's choice to short, scoring Matero from third.
 
Leading 4-2 entering the bottom of the fourth, the Valiants finally blew it open. Rookie Ryan Kirby (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) and sophomore Brian Bornkamp (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) reach on a single to center and a bunt single to the pitcher, respectively, followed by a walk for senior Matt Lynch (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) to load the bases.
 
Manhattanville's first run of the inning came on a wild pitch during rookie Jake Parisi's (Centereach, N.Y./Centereach) at-bat, prompting the game's first pitching change. With bases once again juiced, Matero smacked a two-run single up the middle to make it 7-2. Two more runs scored in the next at-bat as senior Luke Tebolt (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) plated Parisi from third with a groundout. Matero, who was already on second thanks to a wild pitch, scored following an errant throw from the Bloodhound first baseman to third.
 
Viscusi tossed another scoreless inning for the Valiants in the fifth before sophomore Alby Ciuffetelli (Mahopac, N.Y./Yorktown) entered in relief and closed out the game on the mound. He tossed 4.0 scoreless innings, allowed just one hit while striking out four batters and walking one for his first-career save. One more run was scored over the remainder of the game when Bornkamp plated Kirby with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the eighth for good measure.
 
Riding a three-game winning streak, the Valiants are scheduled to return to the field next weekend in Staten Island, N.Y., for a doubleheader at the College of Staten Island on Saturday, March 14, beginning at noon. The Dolphins own the 29-20 edge all-time, but Manhattanville has won the last four dating back to the 2016 season.