Riverdale, N.Y. (May 15, 2006)- Manhattan College Baseball celebrated an impromptu Iona Prep day today, as senior designated hitter
John Fitzpatrick has been named MAAC Baseball Player of the Week, while freshman left handed pitcher
Mike Gazzola, also an Iona Prep graduate, has been named the MAAC Pitcher of the Week for the week ending May 14, it was announced today by the MAAC office. This is the second time this season that Gazzola has received this honor, and the fifth time a Manhattan pitcher has been recognized by the MAAC. This is the first time this season Fitzpatrick has received this honor.
Fitzpatrick swung a red-hot bat all week, batting .668 with two home runs and 15 RBI in leading Manhattan to a 5-0 week that moved the Jaspers into third place in the MAAC standings. The Manhattan career home run king did most of his damage during the Jaspers' MAAC series sweep of Saint Peter's, batting .800 (8-10) with two homers, three doubles, five runs scored, 13 RBI, and 17 total bases, while slugging at a 1.700 clip and posting a .733 on base percentage.
In a record breaking first game of the series, he went 4-4 with two doubles, two home runs, three runs scored, and nine RBI. Fitzpatrick tallied at least one RBI in each of his six plate appearances, adding an RBI walk and an RBI sacrifice fly to his other heroics. The senior's three-run home run in the bottom of the first moved him into first place on the Manhattan career RBI lists, as he ended the weekend 159 RBI for his career. His solo blast in the seventh moved him into a tie for the Jaspers' single season home run record, as his round tripper was his 11th on the season.
The slugger's two RBI double in his last at bat of the weekend was the 55th of his career, moving his into a tie for the top spot. His 3-4 performance in the series finale left him one hit short of becoming the fourth member of the Jaspers' 200 hit club. The Iona Prep alum put the ball in play in every at bat during the series, reaching on an error and popping out to account for his 8-10 weekend. He raised his batting average 43 points on the week, but a whopping 33 points over the weekend, as he is now batting .296 on the season.
Gazzola struck out eight and did not walk a batter to earn his fourth win of the year in Manhattan's 9-3 win over Sacred Heart. The only two hits he allowed were solo home runs in the first and sixth. The southpaw has tallied 51 strikeouts in 44.1 innings of work, while his four wins ties him for second on the team.
Manhattan (27-20, 15-8 MAAC) has won six in a row, and gets back in action on Tuesday, May 16, hosting Wagner at 3:30 p.m. at Van Cortlandt Park before closing out the regular season with a critical three-game MAAC series at Canisius Thursday and Friday.
