Box Score
Staten Island, NY – A seven-run fourth inning by the Seahawks wasn't enough to get past the visiting Manhattan Jaspers, as the Wagner softball team dropped its fifth straight game, and home opener, 9-7, today at Wagner Field.
The tempo of the game was set from the very beginning as the first three Jasper hitters of the day reached on hits off Wagner pitcher Judy Betz (Ashburn, VA), sending two runs across the plate before being handed their first out. A sacrifice fly by Ashley Rampino and a solo homerun by Jen Keller put the visitors up 4-0 after the top of the first inning, forcing the Green and White to play catch-up.
After a big inning for the Jaspers, the Seahawks were looking to start out strong, but Rampino took to the circle and controlled the offensive pace, allowing just four hits in the first three innings, leaving seven Wagner runners on base.
Manhattan added to its lead in the top of the third inning as three runs on three hits extended the Jasper advantage to 7-0.
The 'never-say-die' Seahawks weren't about to stop fighting, as Alyssa McCulloch (East Brunswick, NJ) opened the top of the fourth inning with her second hit of the day, singling to left field. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases before sophomore Brittany Huss (Anthem, AZ) blasted a single to right field, scoring Hailey Corthell (Reno, NV) and Ashley Rollins (Fairfax, VA). Rampino plunked the next batter, MacKenzie Alfaro (Riverside, CA), to reload the bases for Amanda Garcia (Fresno, CA). The senior promptly blasted a grand slam over the left-center field fence, recording the Seahawks' first homer of the season, and bringing the game within one run, 7-6.
Two batters later, fellow senior Ashley Olsen (Staten Island, NY) tied the game on one swing of her own, taking a Rampino pitch well over the centerfield fence for her third career home run.
Both teams traded scoreless innings in the fifth, before the Jaspers regained their lead in the top half of the sixth. A Carla Velasquez sacrifice fly gave Manhattan a 8-7 lead, as she lofted a deep shot to left field off Garcia, who came in for Betz.
Erika Sullivan came in for Rampino and shut down the Seahawks in the sixth inning while her team added one more insurance run in the top of the seventh to make it a 9-7 game.
McCulloch knocked her third hit of the day with one out in the seventh inning, giving the Seahawks some late hope. Rollins followed up after McCulloch with a hit of her own, recording her second of the year, but the freshman's singled would be the last hit of the day, as Sullivan retired Corthell and Huss to end the threat and seal the 9-7 Jasper victory.
For Garcia, it was sixth loss of the season in the circle as the Green and White drop their fifth straight and move to 1-17 on the season. The win moves the Jaspers to 10-14 on the season.
Following the non-conference loss to the Jaspers, the Seahawks will hit the road this weekend to get back into their Northeast Conference schedule, traveling to western Pennsylvaniat to take on Robert Morris and Saint Francis (PA) in two-game sets.
NOTE: Game two of the scheduled doubleheader was called by the umpires due to darkness. The contest was halted at 8-5 in favor of the Jaspers.
