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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan baseball team is tied for the third longest home winning streak in NCAA Division I with 14 straight victories, but none of those contests were more important than the Jaspers' three game series with Siena, which begins Thursday at Van Cortlandt Park. With five teams within one game of each other in the conference standings, the Jaspers are fighting for a spot in the four team field at the 2010 MAAC Championships next week at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y. Manhattan (28-17, 13-8) and Siena (26-25, 12-9) take the diamond for Thursday's doubleheader at 12 p.m.
Fans can follow all the action live from Riverdale at GoJaspers.com. A live blog and audio broadcast will be available throughout the series, which is scheduled to end on Friday with a single game at 12 p.m.
Entering the showdown with the Saints, Manhattan has won the last six regular-season series between the two programs. The Jaspers began what they hope to be a strong close to the 2010 regular-season by taking all three games against Iona last weekend at Van Cortlandt Park. Manhattan's offense flourished behind the lead of senior centerfielder Kevin Nieto, the 2010 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. Nieto hit .545 with two home runs and seven RBI to help Manhattan outscore the Gaels 36-6 in the series.
Featuring one of the top offenses in the MAAC, Manhattan is averaging 8.2 runs per game at Van Cortlandt Park this season. Much of this production has come from the timely hitting of juniors Mike McCann (.458), Mark Onorati (.449) and Austin Sheffield (.432) in their home park.
Enjoying a career year, Onorati is leading the MAAC with a .414 batting average, going along with 17 doubles and 43 RBI in 43 starts. McCann, a lefty right fielder from Belle Harbor, N.Y., has caught fire in May batting .488 with five home runs, five doubles and 22 RBI in the last 10 games. Sheffield is also turning it up at the right time as he has delivered three homers and 15 RBI during this stretch.
The Jaspers will also look for production during the series from junior third baseman Chad Salem who has been a tough out to get this year. Salem is the MAAC leader for on-base percentage with a .519 mark, while ranking second with 63 runs scored and fourth with 57 RBI.
Manhattan is expected to go with freshmen pitchers Eric Luksis and John Soldinger for the doubleheader on Thursday. Luksis is coming off his third MAAC victory on Saturday in a 10-2 triumph over Iona. The product of Wappingers Falls, N.Y. has won three of his last four conference starts and harbors a 4.65 ERA in league games. Soldinger, the reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week, has produced five wins, seven saves and a team best 1.72 ERA in 19 appearances. Soldinger won his fourth straight start on Saturday with his second complete game victory of the year to defeat the Gaels.
On the verge of the program's fifth consecutive 30-win season, the Jaspers hope to punch their seventh straight ticket to the MAAC Championships before the weekend starts. The league's top four teams will congregate at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y. from May 26-29 for a shot at the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
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