College Baseball
Manhattan College 6, Rider University 3
RIVERDALE, NY?The Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at Manhattan Saturday. “They did a few things better than we did today,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis. “We didn't hit well enough, didn't pitch well enough.”
Rider (21-20, 10-9 MAAC) cut the lead to 5-3 in the fifth inning on four hits and a pair of Jasper errors. “We had one good inning where we got back into the game,” Davis said, “but on the whole we didn't do much.”
Sophomore A.J. Albee (Ashley, Pa./Hanover Area) extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a double in the fifth inning, Rider's first hit of the game.
Manhattan (31-14, 15-4 MAAC) scored two runs in the first inning on a pair of walks and a two-run double, and took a 4-0 lead in the second inning on two more hits. “They are very good,” Davis said of the Jaspers. “They hit the ball. They can swing the bats, up and down the line up.”
Sophomore John Ralston (Annandale, Va./Paul VI) and junior Nick Wojnowski (Baldwin, Md./Calvert Hall) each had two of Rider's eight hits. “We had some opportunities,” Davis said. “We had the tying run at the plate in the last inning.”
In the top of the ninth inning Ralston and Wojnowski singled but could not score.
Rider senior Mike Petrowski (Hamilton Square, N.J./Steinert) started and pitched five and two-thirds innings. Petrowski has now pitched 285 innings in his Rider career, breaking the Bronc record of 282.1 set in 1993.
Sophomore Nate Eppley (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern) pitched two and one-third innings, allowing just one hit. “Eppley came in and did a good job for us,” Davis said, “kept the game in check.”
Sophomore Steve Galella (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial), sophomore Mason Heyne (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock) and senior Maurice Williams (Tinton Falls, N.J./Monmouth Regional) also had hits for Rider. Galella and junior Darron Lattomus (Remington, Va./West Springfield) had RBI for the Broncs.
For Williams, it was career hit number 196.
The first place Jaspers are now 13-2 at home this season.
Jasper pitcher Mike Gazzola pitched a compete game, his third of the season, improving to 6-1. “He pitched well,” Davis said.
Rider lost two out of three games to Manhattan last season in Lawrenceville and the Jaspers went on to finish in second place in the MAAC. Rider and Manhattan have now met 37 times in the series that began in 1998 with Rider winning 16.
The second and third games of the series will be played Sunday with the doubleheader beginning at 12 noon at Manhattan. “We've got to come back tomorrow and try to win a game or two, just hope for the best,” Davis said.
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