Live Stats
Lawrenceville, NJ – Manhattan (11-27; 5-7 MAAC) returns to MAAC action with three games at Rider (16-20-1; 8-7 MAAC) this weekend starting with a 2:00 pm game on Saturday, April 29.
Probable Jasper Pitching Match-Ups:
Game 1 (9 innings) - Saturday, April 29 - 2:00 pm
Manhattan: Senior RHP Matt Simonetti (2-3; 5.47 ERA; 18 K/12 BB; 26.1 IP)
Rider: Junior LHP Nick Margevicius (4-2; 2.51 ERA; 54 K/16 BB; 57.1 IP)
Game 2 (7 innings) - Sunday, April 30 - 12:00 pm
Manhattan: Junior LHP Tom Cosgrove (2-5; 5.26 ERA; 68 K/25 BB; 51.1 IP)
Rider: Freshman LHP Pete Soporowski (2-3; 7.16 ERA; 27 K/18 BB; 44.0 IP
Game 3 (9 innings) - Sunday, April 30 - 2:30 pm
Manhattan: Senior RHP Joey Rocchietti (3-4; 5.91 ERA; 46 K/9 BB; 53.1 IP)
Rider: Freshman RHP John Yocum (2-3; 5.71 ERA; 43 K/23 BB; 41.0 IP)
QUICK HITS (OFFENSE):
* Over his last 11 games, sophomore Richie Barrella is hitting .379 (11-of-29) with six runs, four RBI, two walks and has been plunked three times en route to posting a .471 OBP.
* Last week at Iona, Barrella was 4-for-9 while reaching at a .500 clip.
* Senior Jose Carrera is hitting .280 (7-of-25) over his last seven games with four stolen bases, four runs and three walks.
* Sophomore Fabian Pena paces the Jaspers in hitting (.313), hits (46), doubles (14), OBP (.370), multi-hit games (11), three-hit games (7) and multi-RBI games (6).
* Senior Evan Brown saw his on-base streak snapped at a team-high 14 games this past weekend and crushed his team-leading fourth home run in the win over Iona. He is batting .303 with 11 doubles, the aforementioned four homers, 16 RBI and a team-leading .525 slugging percentage
* Freshman Alex Cerda went 2-for-4 in the victory over Hofstra while crushing his first career home run en route to registering a career-high three RBI.
* Classmate Dominic Palma went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.
* Manhattan has had five different players record on-base streaks of 10-plus games this year in Brown (14), Pena (12), junior Michael Pfenninger (12), senior Matt Forlow (12) and Carrera (10).
QUICK HITS (PITCHING):
* Cosgrove fired his second-straight complete game in the win over Iona, striking out nine while recording 13 ground balls over 8.0 dominating innings of work.
* Over his last two starts, the Staten Island native has struck out 14, against just three walks, over 16.0 innings of work with a 0.56 ERA while limiting opposing hitters to a .217 average.
* Cosgrove continues to pace the MAAC with 68 strikeouts (60th NCAA) and is second in the circuit with 11.92 strikeouts per nine innings (22nd NCAA).
* Senior RHP Shawn Kanwisher has not allowed a hit over last six appearances, recording three saves while striking out seven, against one walk, over 10.1 innings while facing the minimum 31 batters.
* Rocchietti picked up his team-leading third win at Hofstra, striking out two over an inning of relief.
* Freshman RHP T.J. Stuart has been solid over his last seven outings, pitching to a 2.45 ERA with 15 strikeouts over 11.0 innings of action.
BATTER UP
* Head Coach Jim Duffy is just 6-8 against Rider since taking over the program prior to the 2012 season, including going 3-3 in Lawrenceville.
* The Jaspers have just six offensive players and four pitchers that have faced Rider in their careers as the teams didn't meet last year.
* In the last match-up in 2015, junior Brendan Bisset hit .455 (5-of-11) with three runs, two RBI, two walks and a .571 OBP.
* Senior Jason Patnick hit .364 (4-of-11) while Pfenninger checked in with a .333 mark (3-of-9).
* Cosgrove fired 7.0 scoreless innings against Rider as a freshman.
* As a rookie in 2014, Brown batted .333 (4-of-12) with three RBI, two runs and two stolen bases over three games against the Broncs.
RIDER NOTES
* Head Coach Barry Davis is just 14-22, all-time, against Manhattan since taking over prior to the 2005 campaign.
* Rider is led by Lee Lipinski, who checks in with a .304 average, nine doubles, three home runs and 21 RBI as seven different Broncs are batting above .260.
* Tyler Kaiser is next up with a .289 average with six doubles, two triples, four home runs and a team-leading 25 RBI.
* Rounding out Rider's top three hitters is Riley Mihalik, who is batting .286 with seven doubles, four home runs and 18 RBI.
* In the teams' meeting, Brian Uliana went 6-for-11 over three games with two doubles, a home run and four RBI.
PENA NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH AWARD LIST
Pena was named to the official watch list for the 2017 Johnny Bench Award presented by BaseballSavings.com as announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.
THAT'S FAST
Carrera tabbed as one of the top-five stolen base threats in the Division I ranks by the NCAA. Click HERE for the entire article.
THE RETURNERS
Manhattan returns 25 letterwinners, including seven starting position players and their entire weekend rotation from a year ago. Click HERE for the entire prospectus.
PENA GARNERS PRESEASON HONORS
On the heels of his landmark rookie campaign, Pena was tabbed as the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year in the annual Coaches Poll as well as by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1 Baseball and Perfect Game.
TOP PROSPECT(S)
Pena also was selected as the No. 1 MAAC Pro Prospect for the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft by D1Baseball.Com and was slated as the 130th top collegiate prospect for the 2018. Cosgrove was also slated as the top prospect for the 2017 MLB Draft by Baseball America and as the fourth-best by D1Baseball.Com. Additionally, Carrera was picked as the No. 10 pro prospect in the circuit by Baseball America.
NEWCOMERS
The Jaspers welcome nine student-athletes to the fold this year, including five pitchers and four position players.
MAAC PRESEASON POLL
Manhattan was tabbed to finish fourth and return to the MAAC Tournament in the annual preseason Coaches Poll for the second-straight year and fourth time in Duffy's tenure in Riverdale.
2006 TEAM INDUCTED TO HALL OF FAME
The landmark 2006 Jaspers' Baseball team that upset nationally ranked Nebraska en route to a second-place finish at the Lincoln Regional was selected to the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame this past fall.
UP NEXT
Manhattan is at UAlbany on Tuesday, May 2 with first pitch tabbed for 3:00 pm.
