ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University Baseball team returned home for the first time in 2024 and battled Manhattanville College to a doubleheader split, falling in game one, 3-1, before taking game two, 15-9.
After a scoreless top of the first,
Brandon Colon singled to center and
Isaiah Payton followed with a base hit of his own, moving B. Colon to third. Payton then moved to second on a wild pitch and
Joe Boccio grounded out to plate B. Colon for a 1-0 Neumann lead.
Manhattanville tied the game in the fourth on an RBI single. They took the lead the next inning on an RBI single on the right side and added one more run in the seventh on a wild pitch.
The Knights picked up just three hits by B. Colon, Payton, and
Donovan Brooks.
Aidan Jackson had a solid start but was saddled with the loss to drop to 1-1 on the season. He pitched six innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out one.
In game two, again, the Knights opened the offense. With one out in the first,
AJ Nardo walked. Two batters later,
Andrew Curran also reached on a base-on-balls, then
Marcus White drove in the game's first run with an RBI double into left, scoring Nardo.
In the third, Nardo again reached with one out, this time on a single.
Josh Finger reached on an error and Nardo made to third on another error. Curran made it a three run game with a two-run single and White stepped up and blasted a two-run home run that landed on top of the softball field's dugout, his second homer of the season, giving the Knights a 5-0 lead.
Finger led off the sixth with a walk and advanced to second on a errant pickoff attempt. Two outs later,
Anthony Rakotz hit single to left to score Finger, putting Neumann up by six. Although the lead seemed comfortable, the Valiants powered back into the game in the top of the sixth. They got on the board with two RBI singles and then tied the game on a grand slam over the left field wall. An RBI double gave them the lead as they sent 11 men to the plate.
The bottom of the inning showed that Neumann had resiliency as they took back the game with a vengeance. Brooks led off with a walk, stole second, and scored on a Mark Mason RBI triple to tie the game. Nardo followed with a walk and moved to second on a grounder. Curran then reached first on an error and White drove in Nardo and Mason with a two-run single but they were not done yet.
Tyler Kilmer plated two more on a single and both
Colton Shaub and Brooks drove in runs consecutively. Finger closed out the scoring with a two-run single as 13 Knights came to the plate in the inning. Although Manhattanville responded with two in the seventh, on a two-run double, they couldn't get any closer.
White finished the game going 3 for 4 and was a triple shy of the cycle, with a homer, a double, five runs batted in, and two runs scored. Mason was 2 for 4 at the top of the lineup with a triple, an RBI, and a run. Finger, Curran, Kilmer each drove in two runs.
Jack Valentine picked up the win in relief, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks, and a strikeout over 1.2 innings. He's now 2-0.
Neumann (7-4) will be back in action on Tuesday afternoon when they head out on the road against Muhlenberg. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 PM.
