Jaspers Baseball earns doubleheader split against Iona.
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Andrew Mannion, Sports Editor
Baseball
The Manhattan University baseball team bounced back from an early stumble to earn a hard-fought doubleheader split against Iona on Friday at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. After dropping game one 9-5, the Jaspers responded with a dominant 5-0 shutout in the nightcap, highlighted by strong pitching and timely hitting.
The second game belonged to MU from the start. The Jaspers opened the scoring in the first inning when junior right fielder Aidan Taclas doubled home sophomore Aidan Katzman. In the second inning, Manhattan broke things open with three runs, thanks to back-to-back doubles from Colin Basehore and Hunter Sute, followed by a pair of walks and another RBI single from Taclas.
On the mound, sophomore right-hander Joe Duffield was in command. Duffield tossed six shutout innings, scattering four hits while striking out six. He was especially clutch in the sixth, working out of a jam by striking out Iona’s Sean Stephenson to end the threat. Graduate pitcher Joey Craska finished the job, tossing three scoreless innings in relief to earn the save.
The Jaspers tacked on one more insurance run in the sixth, with Katzman singling home Sute to cap off the scoring. Katzman had a standout day overall, going five for seven between both games, with two runs scored, a double, an RBI, and a stolen base.
Taclas rebounded in a big way after a quiet first game, finishing three for four in game two with three RBIs and a double. Sute added a multi-hit performance of his own, going two for three with an RBI, two runs and a walk.
Despite the early setback in game one, the Jaspers showed resilience in game two to improve to 3-3 in the second game of MAAC series play. Manhattan now looks to carry that momentum into the final game of its seven-game homestand on Sunday. It will be the last contest at Naimoli this season, with remaining home games moving to Clover Stadium in Pomona.
Women’s Lacrosse
A strong first-half showing and a hat trick from junior Lauren Maher weren’t enough for Manhattan women’s lacrosse, as the Jaspers fell to Siena, 14-8, on Wednesday afternoon at Hickey Field.
Maher got Manhattan on the board first, scoring at 10:03 of the opening quarter. After Siena responded with back-to-back goals, Maher struck again to tie the game at 2-2. The Saints answered with two more goals to close the quarter ahead 4-2.
In the second, Siena extended its lead with a free position goal, but Manhattan stayed in the fight. Ava Fernandes scored midway through the frame, and Maher completed her hat trick with a free position conversion to make it 6-4 at halftime.
However, the Saints took control in the second half, outscoring the Jaspers 4-1 in the third quarter and 4-3 in the fourth. Julia Kerr netted two goals in the second half, both on free position shots, marking her second career multi-goal performance. Meghan Wendler and Juliana Mahan added goals to round out the scoring for Manhattan.
Despite the loss, goalkeeper Danielle Serbinski shined between the pipes, recording a career-best 15 saves—surpassing her previous mark of 13 set earlier this season. Manhattan was also efficient on clears, successfully converting 14-of-17 opportunities.
The Jaspers will look to regroup as they continue MAAC play, building off the standout efforts of Maher, Kerr, and Serbinski in Wednesday’s road contest.