KINGS POINT, N.Y. – Playing a pair of Skyline Conference games with heavy postseason implications, the Manhattanville College baseball team split a doubleheader with the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Monday night. The split decision moves the Valiants' record on the year to 16-19 overall and 9-7 in conference play, statistically in a three-way tie for fourth in the conference standings.

Game One Recap: Manhattanville 5, USMMA 3
The Valiants scored in each of the final four innings to earn the win in the opener against the Mariners.

USMMA got on the board in the first with a Garrett Clapsaddle RBI single. The score remaining 1-0 until the fourth when Manhattanville began their scoring on the night. Michael Musantry (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) led off the inning with a single. Two batters later, Michael Matica (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) lined a single to right that was then misplayed by the Mariner fielder. The error allowed Musantry to race around the bases with the tying run. An inning later, the Valiants took the lead on a wild pitch that allowed Gregory Tashik (Midland Park, N.J./Midland Park Jr./Sr.) to score from third.

It would be a shortlived lead as USMMA got RBI from Tyler Reistetter and Jared Chambers in the bottom half to go back ahead 3-2. The Valiants had a two run frame of their own in wait for the top of the sixth. Chris Goohs (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown H.S. East) led off the inning with a single before making his way over to third with a pair of steals. Gabe Astrologo (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic Prep) rewarded the rookie for his hard work by hitting a sacrifice fly out to center to allow the tying run to score. Anthony Caputo (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) then scored a batter later from second off Tashik's single to left to put Manhattanville back in front 4-3.

Matica added an insurance run in the seventh, plating Musantry on a single through the left side of the infield.

Sean Demo (Cape May, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) would benefit from the late scoring as his 2.2 hitless innings in relief resulted in him earning his first win of the year. The senior issued a pair of walks while striking out three to protect the lead the bats got for him to take the opener.
Alby Ciuffetelli (Mahopac, N.Y./Yorktown) made the start for the Valiants, throwing 4.1 innings in the no decision. Ciuffetelli was charged with three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out one.

Jake Parisi (Centereach, N.Y./Centereach) had the lone extra base hit for the Valiants in the contest with a double. He, alongside Musantry and Matica, finished the game with two hits.

Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 6, USMMA 7 (11 Innings)
It was a marathon affair for close out the night as extra innings and a light delay resulted in a three-plus hour affair.

After an explosive first three innings that saw ten total runs scored, nothing came across the plate from the fourth inning onward until the 11^th when the Mariners were able to walk off the game with a two run bottom half.

Parisi drew a bases loaded walk in the top of the 11^th to break a 5-5 tie, putting the Valiants up by a run. Despite loading the bases with nobody away, the one run would be all Manhattanville could muster in the extra frame. Merchant Marine capitalized, tying up the game on Jack Millen's two out single before three batters later, Clapsaddle brought an end to the long night with an infield single to plate the winning run in Millen.

Getting up to that point, the first three innings were ones to forget for pitching staffs. The Valiants hung a three spot in the top of the first on four hits and a walk. Joshua Gillison (Buchanan, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) fired the opening salvo with a single through the left side to plate Parisi. Two batters later, Goohs deliver a two run single to left to score Gillison and Musantry to give Manhattanville an early 3-0 lead.

The Mariners immediately began clawing back, scoring twice in the bottom half. Despite the early lead falling to a lone run, a sac fly by Parisi and RBI single off the bat of Musantry plated two more runs for the Valiants in the second to make it a 5-2 game.

Millen hit an RBI single for USMMA in the bottom of the second before Travis Leatherwood lined a two run double into the gap in right center to tie the game at 5-5 with only three innings gone.

Pitching took over from there with seven straight scoreless innings by both staffs. Ray White (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland) took the blows over the first three innings, being charged with four earned runs on eight hits while striking out two. Jay Lockwood (Stamford, Conn./Stamford) was the first arm out of the pen as he threw five scoreless innings, working around six hits and a walk while striking out six.

Myles Durney (Port Chester, N.Y./Port Chester) provided two more shutout innings of relief before finding trouble in the 11^th. Both final inning runs would be charged to him as Jack Taggart (Levittown, N.Y./Division Avenue) was unable to keep the inherited runners stranded as Merchant Marine earned the split.

Up Next
The final week of the regular season continues on Wednesday when the Valiants host Purchase for a Skyline twinbill at 1 p.m.

VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.  #WeAreValiant #GoValiants