NORFOLK, VA – Behind
Vincent Samuel's grand slam, the Manhattan Jaspers Baseball team (1-3) took down the Monarchs of Old Dominion University (2-2) by a score of 10-7 inside Ellmer Family Baseball Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Looking to build off the spectacular performance against the Cougars, the Jaspers were primed and ready to take on the Sun Belt's Monarchs in enemy territory and spread the Jasper name along the East Coast.
- The Green and White did exactly that, as the game began with a Guriyandel Salva double down the left-field line.
- With the Monarchs striking first, Vincent Samuel got things going in the third inning with a double down the left field line to drive home Jackson Brinker, who worked his first walk of the game, followed by his first steal of the year to tie the game at one.
- In the home half of the third inning, the Monarchs' Zedalis smacked a grand slam over the left field fence to give Old Dominion a comfortable four-run cushion over the Jaspers.
- In the top of the fourth inning, the Jaspers found their rhythm and put together an offensive onslaught. Starting with Carson Vance's first career home run to left-center field to bring the deficit to three.
- The next three batters in, Jeremy Sosa, Ryan Lordier, and Jackson Brinker all got aboard the basepath, while Lordier stole second and third on back-to-back pitches. Then, it was Salva who loaded the bases with a walk.
- Stepping up to the plate was Vincent Samuel, who blasted the go-ahead grand slam in a "no-doubter" way over the left-field fence and trees to put the Jaspers ahead for the second time this afternoon.
- The runs kept coming for the Green and White with Andreaus Lewis driving in Justin Best with an RBI double. Colin Basehore joined the party with a single and brought home Lewis from second to give Manhattan a three-run advantage.
- The Jaspers held suit for the next three innings with a two run lead, before Jackson Brinker brought home Lordier and Vance on a two-RBI single to left-center to give the Jaspers some breathing room in the visiting half of the ninth inning.
- To close out the game and earn his first save of the season was Ivan Epps, who forced Old Dominion's Dye into a double-play, before the final Monarch lined out to Brinker to seal the victory.
STATS AND NOTES
- Infielder Vincent Samuel propelled the Green and White over the Monarchs with a grand slam to total five RBIs on two hits and five at-bats. Samuel also crossed the plate once, while notching a double.
- Outfielder Justin Best added two hits on five at-bats and stole one base, while crossing the plate once.
- Infielder Ryan Lordier went 3-for-4 on the day with a team and season high three stolen bases.
- Outfielder Jackson Brinker appeared on base four times with three walks, two RBIs, and crossed the plate twice. Brinker also stole one base in the afternoon.
- Graduate left-handed pitcher Arnav Ghuliani fanned three in three innings of work, while surrendering one earned run and one walk in 17 total batters faced.
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS
Head Coach
Steven Rosen: "I'm so happy for the boys. I'm so proud of the way they battled back after falling behind early. The bats had been on the barrel for three straight games, and today it all came together as we continue to show what type of team we can be. So many guys to shoutout -
Jackson Brinker in the #9 hole on base 4 times,
Carson Vance's first career homer, of course Vin Samuel with the big grand slam. Huge performances on the mound from Nav (
Arnav Ghuliani),
Steven Bronson making his first career outing, and gutsy performances from
Garrett Theile and
Ivan Epps to get the win. These are the types of wins we can continue to build on, and we're all so excited to hit the field for practice tomorrow."
Infielder
Vincent Samuel: "This win was amazing to get, a statement game for us as a program! Felt like we played well in PR against some good teams. Great to see us get an overall team win. We played great offensively while also having guys on the mound come in and handle business against a good program. We are going to keep building off this and keep trying our best to go 1-0 every day."
NEXT UP
The Jaspers return action on Friday, February 20, when the Green and White begin a four-game series against the Spartans of Norfolk State from inside Marty L. Miller Field in Norfolk. The contest can be viewed for free on NEC Front Row.
