PURCHASE, N.Y. – In the latest iteration of the Battle of Anderson Hill Road, the Manhattanville College varsity baseball team split a doubleheader at Purchase College on Saturday. After falling 3-1 in the opener, the Valiants bounced back to take the second pitcher's duel by a final of 2-1. With the split, Manhattanville now sits at 18-14 on the year with an 11-5 mark in Skyline Conference play.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 1, Purchase 3
In the opener, it would be the visiting Valiants striking in the first innings, but the Panthers scratched out three runs in the middle innings to win the seven inning affair.
As he has done all season,
Brian Bornkamp (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) was involved in Manhattanville's first inning run. The senior drew a walk and advanced to second on an error on the Purchase catcher. Bornkamp then stole third and came home on
Tyler Mandel's (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) groundout to put the Valiants ahead 1-0.
The score held there until the fourth as starters
Alby Ciuffetelli (Mahopac, N.Y./Yorktown) and Myles Scarry matched each other stride for stride in the early going. The Panthers finally got to Ciuffetelli in the bottom half of the fourth frame, opening up the inning with a leadoff single and double to put a pair in scoring position. The tying run scored on a Jason Sebastiano groundout, while Sam Saltzman's single in the following at-bat would put Purchase in front. The Panthers added one more in the fifth as a run scored on a Ciuffetelli error. The senior would ultimately go 5.2 innings, giving up eight hits and having all three runs (two earned) charged to him. He would strike out one in the outing.
The Valiants would be held to just one hit in the contest, a fifth inning single off the bat of
Michael Musantry (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac). Manhattanville would get bases runners in each of the final two innings thanks to walks and hit batters, but none would advance past second base as the Panthers closed the door in the opener.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 2, Purchase 1
While the Valiant bats had a lot more success with nine hits in Game Two of the twin bill, just three total runs would be scored in the finale. Still, the two runs Manhattanville managed to scratch out were just enough for the Valiants to head back home with a victory.
Ray White's (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland) fantastic rookie season continued, earning his seventh win of the season. White threw 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and walking three while striking out five, a new personal best.
As White dealt, Musantry got the Valiants on the board in the second inning. After Mandel doubled to lead off the inning and
Anthony Pressimone (Bronx, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) drew a walk, the duo each advanced a base on
Joe LaPorta's (Centerech, N.Y./Centereach) sacrifice bunt. Musantry cashed in with a single to center to score Mandel, but Pressimone was thrown out at home trying to score on the play. White got back to work with the lead, not letting a runner reach second base until the fourth.
The Valiants were finally able to add on to the slim lead in the eighth inning. Pressimone hit a single to center before advancing up to third on a pair of passed balls. The presence of the sophomore 90 feet away from scoring threw Cass Muller off, as the reliever balked to allow Pressimone to come home with an important insurance run.
After replacing White to get out of a jam in the seventh,
Matthew Messina (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) issued a lead off walk in the eighth. James Shea would steal second as
Thomas Iazzetta (Thornwood, N.Y./Westlake) was tabbed to preserve the Valiants' lead. Although Shea would score on a Christian Homa single in Iazaetta's first batter of his appearance, the junior retired the next two in order before stranding runners at the corners in the ninth to earn his fifth save of the year.
Joe McDonald (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) hit a triple in the seventh inning, his first three bagger of his collegiate career.
Up Next
The Valiants close out the weekend with Senior Day tomorrow, honoring the Class of 2022 ahead of a noon first pitch against John Jay.
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