May 21, 2004
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Fairfield University baseball team fell to Manhattan College in a slugfest, 14-12, in the finale of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series with the Jaspers on Friday afternoon, at Van Cortlandt Park.
The loss ends Fairfield's season, at 16-27 overall, and 11-16 in the MAAC, while Manhattan will head to the 2004 MAAC Baseball Championships at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y., next weekend.
Manhattan (23-25-1, 16-9 MAAC) scored the first seven runs of the game, posting four runs on five hits in the bottom of the first, and three runs on three hits in the bottom of the second.
In the top of the third inning, Fairfield put a run on the board , thanks to a senior Jim Sheridan (Carle Place, N.Y./Carle Place) double to centerfield, scoring sophomore Dewy Raymond (Norwalk, Conn./Trinity Catholic). Raymond who saw his first collegiate action this series, finished the day 3-for-5 with two doubles, and two runs scored, after going 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Thursday's nightcap.
The Stags would then tack on three runs in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Manhattan lead to 7-4. Senior Antuan Barnett (Bronx, N.Y./Rice) smacked his 21st homerun of his career, with a shot to right centerfield with one-out.
Then back-to-back singles by sophomore Jim Girolamo (Wayland, Mass./Wayland), and junior David Soucy (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) brought in senior Mike Wray (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) to the plate where, he reached on a fielder's choice, and Girolamo scored after advancing to third on the Soucy base hit. After a Raymond single, Sheridan ripped a single to left to plate Wray.
However, in the home half of the fourth inning the Jaspers posted five runs on five hits, to make it 12-4.
In the sixth, the Stags pushed a run across as Wray stroked a single up the middle, and would come home as Sheridan smoked a double to right center field. In the seventh, Girolamo drove in senior Andy Lynn (Montville, N.J./Delbarton) to make it 13-6 in favor of the Jaspers.
The Stags bullpen held the Jaspers scoreless, as the bats would get hot in the top of the eighth, as they scored five runs on five hits. Raymond got things going with a one-out double, then after a pitching change, Sheridan reached on a throwing error, by the Manhattan third baseman, and a single by senior Nick Hudyma (New Britain, Conn./New Britain), sophomore Tom Arpino (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) would smack a single to right scoring Raymond.
Barnett was the next hitter for the Stags, and he got a hold of a pitch, and sent it to right field for a two-RBI double, scoring Hudyma and Sheridan. Girolamo kept the hit parade going with a single to center, plating Arpino and Barnett.
Manhattan got one of those runs back in the bottom of the eight to take a 14-11 lead, into the ninth. Fairfield started the ninth with s single from Wray, and he was replaced by senior Mark Geanuleas (Glenside, Pa./Academy of the New Church), and Geanuleas moved to third on a pair of ground outs. With two-outs in their last at-bat the Stags received a single through the left side of the Manhattan infield by Hudyma to make it 14-12.
Raymond was one of three Stags who had three hits on the day, as Sheridan went 3-for-5 with two doubles, three runs batted in and a run scored. Girolamo finished the day going 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored.
Barnett went 2-for-5 with a homerun, a double, three runs batted in and two runs scored. Wray also went 2-for-5, and had two runs scored and an RBI.
