Fairfax, VA - Manhattan returns to the state of Virginia for three games at Atlantic 10 member George Mason, starting with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 9 at 2:30 pm.
Schedule:
Game 1 - Saturday, March 9 - 2:30 pm - Live Stats | Live Video
GMU Jr. RHP Jared DiCesare (1-2; 4.60 ERA; 15.2 IP; 9 K; 3 BB; .338 opp. BA) vs. Manhattan Sr. RHP
Ryan Takacs (0-2; 9.69 ERA; 13.0 IP; 5 K; 10 BB; .327 opp. BA)
Game 2 - Sunday, March 10 - 12:00 pm - Live Stats
GMU Fr. RHP Nick Zegna (2-0; 0.00 ERA; 10.0 IP; 5 K; 4 BB; .297 opp. BA) vs. Manhattan Jr. RHP
T.J. Stuart (1-1; 6.30 ERA; 10.0 IP; 15 K; 7 BB; .244 opp. BA)
Game 3 - Sunday, March 10 - 3:00 pm - Live Stats
GMU Sr. LHP Brian Marconi (1-1; 4.60 ERA; 15.2 IP; 11 K; 7 BB; .283 opp. BA) vs. Manhattan GS LHP
John Cain (2-0; 1.96 ERA; 18.1 IP; 21 K; 11 BB; .215 opp. BA)
Cimillo Named MAAC Player & Rookie Of The Week
* Freshman
Nick Cimillo hit safely in all three games at GW, while batting a blistering .636 (7-of-11) with a double, home run, four runs and three RBI en route to being named MAAC Player and Rookie of the Week.
* The Long Island native also drew four walks in posting a .733 OBP with a 1.000 slugging percentage.
* In the opener, Cimillo reached base safely in all five of his trips to the plate, finishing up 4-for-4 with a double, walk, run and a RBI. He then crushed a solo home run with a walk in game two, before going 2-for-4 with two walks, two runs and a RBI in the finale.
* On the year, he is hitting .444 (16-of-36) with eight runs, one double, two home runs, six RBI and five walks with six multi-hit games.
Other Rookies Of Note
* While Cimillo had a monster week, fellow freshmen
Keury Abreu (.500, 5 H, 4 RBI) and
Sam Franco (.375, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI) also had big performances at GW.
Crabbe Goes Yard
* Graduate student
Cam Crabbe's two-run homer in the 11th inning lifted Manhattan to a 12-8 win in the series finale against the Colonials last weekend.
Homer Happy
* Cimillo, Crabbe, Franco and junior
Dominic Palma all crushed home runs last weekend at GW.
* Manhattan paces the MAAC with eight home runs as different student-athletes have gone yard.
Cain Named MAAC Pitcher Of The Week ... Again
* For the second time in as many weeks, graduate student LHP
John Cain was slated as the MAAC Pitcher of the Week, after leading Manhattan to a 5-4 win over Appalachian State.
* Cain collected his second win of the year, striking out eight while yielding just one unearned run on four hits and three walks over 6.2 innings.
* The Lafayette transfer struck out at least one batter in six innings and set down 10 in a row at one point.
Cain Collects First MAAC Pitcher Of The Week Honor
* Cain made his Jasper debut one to remember as he was named the MAAC Pitcher of the Week following his dominating season-opening performance in Manhattan's 5-2 win at Stetson.
* Cain struck out eight on 98 pitches over 7.0 innings of one-run ball. The Lafayette transfer also scattered just two hits and three walks against a Hatter team that was returning eight of its top 10 hitters from last year's Super Regional team.
* The 6-10 Cain got stronger as the game went on, retiring the final eight batters he faced, and limited Stetson to a miniscule .091 average on the day.
Stuart Strong In Relief
* Junior RHP
T.J. Stuart earned his first win of the year last weekend at GW, striking out six over 5.1 innings while yielding just one run.
* On the year, the preseason All-American has fanned 15 over 10.0 innings.
Stuart Save Tracker
* Stuart has 11 career saves and is one away from second place in program history, after registering his first save of the year with 2.2 innings of relief at Appalachian State.
* In the victory over Stetson, he had five strikeouts over the final two frames in a non-save situation.
Blake Rhymes With Rake
* Graduate student
Shawn Blake has hit safely in each of his first nine games as a Jasper and is batting .351 (13-of-37) with a team-high five doubles and three RBI.
DiTorrice Dominates
* Senior RHP
Joe DiTorrice struck out five while yielding just one run on three hits over 6.0 innings of relief against GW.
* On the year, he has nine strikeouts, against just three walks, with a 3.00 ERA over 12.0 innings.
Strikeouts Are The New Long Ball
* Manhattan pitching has an impressive 76 strikeouts in 80.1 innings.
Lefty Lighting
* The Jaspers are hitting .391 against left-handed pitching this year.
The Returners
* Manhattan returns 20 letterwinners, including four starting position players and two starting pitchers. Click
HERE for the entire prospectus.
About George Mason
* The Patriots enter this weekend with a 6-4 record, and have defeated Iowa, Marshall, Longwood and Princeton.
* George Mason is led by Brady Acker, who is batting .316 (6-of-19) while Logan Driscoll had three doubles and three home runs.
Barrella Earns Preseason All-MAAC Honors
* Senior
Richie Barrella was named to the Preseason All-MAAC team as a utility player while Manhattan was slated to finish fifth and return to the MAAC Championship.
* A year ago, Barrella hit a team-leading .309 a year ago with a team-high 59 hits, 21 runs and 25 runs en route to earning All-MAAC Second Team honors. He also registered a team-best 16 multi-hit games with a 17-game hitting streak and twice earned MAAC Player of the Week honors.
Stuart Named Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-American
* Stuart was slated as 2019
Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-American Third Team, powered by Diamond Sports.
* As a sophomore in 2018, Stuart established himself as one of the top pitchers in the MAAC in going 6-2 with a school-record and league-leading 10 saves while also pacing the circuit with 2.57 ERA and 50 strikeouts over 63.0 innings.
* He is also the first Jasper to earn
Collegiate Baseball All-American honors since
Fabian Pena and
Christian Santisteban each did so in 2016.
Stuart Garners Inclusion On NCBWA Initial Stopper List
* Stuart was also was one of the 75 players to be named to the initial Watch List for the 15th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball.
* Stuart was also recently tabbed by
Perfect Game as the No. 5 pro prospect for the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft and as a preseason All-MAAC selection by the online publication.
* The Nutmeg State standout also limited opposing hitters to a MAAC-low .178 average as Manhattan went 18-7 in his outings, including winning 14-straight at one point.
* Entering 2019, Stuart needs just five saves to match the Jasper career record of 15 stops.
Trio Earns Perfect Game/D1Baseball.Com Accolades
* Stuart and sophomore
Matt Padre were slated by
Perfect Game as preseason All-MAAC selections with Cain tabbed as the No. 8 pro prospect in the MAAC for the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft by
D1 Baseball.
Cole Announces 2019 Schedule
* The Jaspers will play 56 games in 2019, consisting of 32 non-conference and 24 MAAC contests. Additionally the Jaspers will host 19 games at Dutchess Stadium and play 37 on the road.
* Manhattan will play nine games against NCAA Regional Teams and 23 games against squads that won at least 30 games.
* The Jaspers will square off against teams from 11 conferences during MAAC play: ACC, America East, Atlantic Sun, Atlantic 10, Big 10, CAA, Ivy, NEC, Patriot, Southland and Sun Belt.
* Highlighting the non-conference slate is a return to 2018 Super Regional participant Stetson as Manhattan will take part in the season-opening Ryclass Classic in Deland, FL, before playing a four-game series at the University of Michigan.
* During MAAC play, Manhattan will host Iona, Siena, Marist and Saint Peter's while playing Canisius, Monmouth, Rider and Quinnipiac on the road.
* The Jaspers will not square off with Fairfield and Niagara in 2019.
Cole On The Schedule:
From The Bronx To The Pros
*
Fabian Pena (25th Round - San Franciso Giants) and
Joe Jacques (34th Round - Pittsburgh Pirates) were each selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft as the Jaspers have now had five players/signees ink contracts with MLB teams since 2016.
* Tom Cosgrove was taken by the San Diego Padres in the 12th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft while
Jose Carrera inked a professional deal with the New York Yankees. Additionally, signee
Tai Tiedemann was selected by the Texas Rangers in the eighth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Dutchess Stadium
* Manhattan will call Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, NY home for the fifth-straight season.
See You In Staten Island
* The 2019 MAAC Baseball Championship will be held at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in Staten Island, NY from the second-straight year from May 22-25. The 2020 championship will also be held at the home of the Single-A Staten Island Yankees.
What's A Jasper?
* The unique nickname of Manhattan College's athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College's most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served as the College's athletic director in the late 19th century. One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team's first coach. Since Brother Jasper was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan baseball games while also directing the team itself. During one particularly warm and humid day when the college was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy with the team coming to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called timeout and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed. Since the College annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880's and into the 1890's at the old Polo Grounds, the Manhattan College practice of the "seventh inning stretch" spread into the major leagues, where it has now become a time-honored custom practiced by millions of fans annually.
Next Weekend
* Manhattan will host NJIT on Tuesday, March 12 at 3:00 pm.
