PURCHASE, N.Y. – Playing their final games of the year on their home campus, the Manhattanville University baseball team split a Skyline Conference doubleheader against Mount Saint Vincent on Thursday. Serving as the road team on their home diamond, the Valiants bounced back from a 7-2 loss in the opener to take Game Two 9-6 to remain alive in the Skyline postseason picture, moving to 19-19 overall and 9-9 in conference play, tied with Purchase for the final berth in the Conference Championship Tournament.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 2, Mount Saint Vincent 7
The Dolphins did their heavy damage in the second, plating three runs against
Ryan McCann (Medford, N.Y./Longwood) on four hits. Manhattanville attempted to fight its way back out of the hole but would be held in check by Alex Alvarez, limiting the Valiants to just three total hits in his complete game effort.
Two of those hits would come in the third inning as
Anthony Mezzaucella (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) hit a two-out double before scoring on
Joseph McDonald's (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) RBI single. The Dolphins reestablished the three run lead in the fourth off a Zach Turko RBI single.
Mount Saint Vincent padded onto the lead with one more in the fifth and a pair in the sixth to pull ahead 7-1. McCann would be unable to escape the sixth, suffering the loss to fall to 5-2. The junior allowed seven runs on 13 hits with a walk while striking out six.
Kevin DeMilia (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Briarcliff) faced one batter in his relief appearance, striking out Joey DiNorcia to limit the damage.
Mike Ambrosecchia (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) brought home the Valiants' second run of the game, delivering a pinch-hit double to right to score
Ryan Osso (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) from second, but that would be all from the Valiant bats in the opener.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 9, Mount Saint Vincent 6
Manhattanville salvaged the day with a pair of big innings in the fifth and seventh, holding on to survive a ninth-inning comeback bid by the Dolphins to take the finale.
Both sides plated a run across the first four frames, with Mount Saint Vincent taking the lead in the bottom of the third before Manhattanville tied it up in the next half inning as
Brian Brezosky (Garnerville, N.Y./North Rockland) lined a two-out double to score
Joshua Gillison (Buchanan, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) from first.
Manhattanville took its first lead of the day in the fifth, with singles off the bats of Ambrosecchia and
Joe Kearney (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) had the Valiants in business with two away. Mezzaucella brought in the go-ahead run with a single to left before McDonald cleared the bases with a two-run single to put Manhattanville up 4-1.
The Dolphins nabbed two runs back on a Jason Albert single in the bottom of the fifth. Manhattanville regained some separation in the seventh. A Mezzaucella single prefaced back-to-back walks by McDonald and Gillison to load up the bases. Brezosky continued the patient approach at the plate by drawing a third-straight walk to force in a run. The Dolphins went to the pen to try and escape the jam, but Osso greeted the new arm with a single to right to plate two runs and extended Manhattanville's lead to 7-3.
The Valiants tacked on in the ninth, first scoring on a pair of double steals that finished with Brezosky nabbing home.
Chris Goohs (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown H.S. East) then brought Osso home with a single to right.
The Dolphins were not content to go away quietly, making things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Mount Saint Vincent collected four hits and a walk to score three runs and bring the tying run up to bat.
Ray White (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland) was called upon to navigate the treacherous situation but rose up, striking out the first batter he faced to allow the Valliant collective to exhale and earn the save, his second of the year.
Jake Warnock (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) picked up the win, improving to 3-3 with the start. The freshman scattered three hits over five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) with three walks and striking out five.
Gregory Esposito (Katonah, N.Y./John Jay) fired 3.2 innings of relief, avoiding any drama until the ninth inning. The graduate arm's final line was three runs on five hits, two walks and five punchouts.
Up Next
The Valiants close out the regular season on Sunday at Mount Saint Mary, looking to officially punch their ticket to the postseason. First pitch of the doubleheader in Newburgh is scheduled for 12 p.m.
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