College Baseball
Manhattan College 2, Rider University 1
TRENTON?The Broncs lost to Manhattan in the first round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, held at Waterfront Park Thursday evening. “To win the big games you need to get the big hits, and we didn't get them tonight,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis. “It was a good ballgame, a well pitched game on both sides, a game that certainly could have gone either way.”
For Manhattan (35-16, 18-6 MAAC), the top seed, Austin Sheffield hit a solo home run, his seventh of the season, tying the score at 1-1 in the fifth inning, Manhattan's first hit of the game. The Jaspers had three more hits in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead. “That was a big home run,” Davis said. “That broke it up.”
Rider (26-21, 14-10 MAAC), the fourth seed and the defending champion, will now face the second seed, Canisius (33-21, 16-8 MAAC) Friday at 12 noon in the losers' bracket. “This is a tough league, a tough tournament, and you have to win the close ones,” Davis said.
Rider sophomore Mason Heyne (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock) extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI single in the first inning, giving the Broncs a 1-0 lead. “We got a big hit in the first inning and after that we did not get another big hit,” Davis said. “We had some good at bats but not big hits.”
Rider sophomore Mike Thomas (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston) pitched six innings, striking out six. Thomas allowed just one base runner, a walk, in the first four innings. Thomas shutout Manhattan in a seven-inning 3-0 victory on May 10. “I thought Thomas threw great,” Davis said.
Sophomore Nate Eppley (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern) pitched two scoreless innings of relief for Rider. “Eppley did a decent job,” Davis said. “He kept them off the board. If before the game you told me we would only give up two runs to those guys, I would have said we'll win the game.”
Jasper pitcher Mike Gazzola, the MAAC Pitcher of the Year, pitched a complete game. “You are not going to win many games against a pitcher of his caliber when you don't take advantage of the chances you get,” Davis said. “Give him credit, he pitched out of some jams.”
The Jaspers' defense turned five double plays in the first six innings. “You have to give their defense credit,” Davis said. “They made the plays. They didn't miss the ground balls.”
Sophomore John Ralston (Annandale, Va./Paul VI) had two of Rider's five hits. Sophomore A.J. Albee (Ashley, Pa./Hanover Area) and senior Sean Olson (Vineland/St. Augustine Prep) also singled for Rider.
On Thursday Canisius lost to Marist (29-25, 15-9 MAAC) 7-6, the second straight year the Golden Griffins were upset by a lower seed in the opening game. “We just have to come out and play tomorrow,” Davis said. “Don't worry about the tournament, just try to win tomorrow's game and go from there.”
Rider senior Mike Petrowski (Hamilton Square, N.J./Steinert) is scheduled to pitch Friday. Last year Petrowski defeated Canisius in the first round and came back two days later to save the Title Game against Siena. This year Petrowski is 3-6.
The Broncs are far from dead after losing the first game.
Rider has won three conference championship tournaments (East Coast Conference) after losing the first game, in 1984, 1987 and 1992. 1984 was Rider's first title and in 1987 Rider advanced to the NCAA Regional Championship Game, the final 16 teams in the national tournament, one win away from the College World Series.
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