SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Manhattan Jaspers softball team (0-2), fell in both of their contests against the Panthers from Prairie View A&M (1-0) and the Cardinals of Incarnate Word (1-0) by the final scores of 7-1 and 12-4 at H-E-B Field on Friday afternoon.
GAME ONE: Manhattan 1, Prairie View A&M 7
- Brianna Estevez grabbed the first hit of the 2026 season in the opening inning, putting one through the middle and later stealing second.
- Karissa Spring took the circle for the first game of the year, striking out her first two batters faced in the home half of the first.
- Prairie View A&M put together a five spot in the second, capped off by a grand slam from Dyani McKinley.
- Kaitlyn Moody doubled to center field in the fourth, bringing home newcomer Natalye DeBus who led off the inning the same way.
- McKinley singled down the line to give the Panthers two insurance runs in the sixth, securing their victory.
- Spring allowed one earned run on five hits across five innings pitched.
- Abby Turnpaugh came in relief for the final three outs, allowing the final two scores.
GAME TWO: Manhattan 4, Incarnate Word 12 (F/5)
- Following a leadoff walk drawn by Samantha Kelly and DeBus knocking a single, Sophia Kiseloski brought them all home with the first home run of Manhattan's season, putting the visitors up 3-0 in the blink of an eye.
- The Cardinals responded with a two run jack of their own in the bottom half, knotting up the contest just three batters in.
- DeBus hit a solo bomb with two outs in the second, putting the Green and White back on top by a run.
- Incarnate Word tied up the contest in the home half with a single, and scored eight unanswered runs over the next three frames, ending early in five.
- The Jaspers threw three different arms in the nightcap, with DeBus taking the first two and two thirds, with newcomers Caitlin Mullen and Gaetani taking the final pair. The former took the brunt of the load with an inning and a third, with Gaetani pitching for the final two outs.
STATS AND NOTES
- Sophomore utility player Brianna Estevez and Freshman infielder Lainey Brown both gathered two hits in the matinee.
- Junior pitcher Karissa Spring fanned seven batters against the Panthers.
- Senior utility player Sophia Kiseloski tacked on three hits along with three RBI in the second bout with Incarnate Word.
- Freshmen third basemen Natalye DeBus and catcher Kaitlyn Moody each tallied a pair of base knocks, giving each three on the day.
NEXT UP:
Manhattan will continue its 2026 campaign tomorrow, Saturday, February 7 when the Jaspers take on the same two teams in Prairie View A&M and Incarnate Word. Game one against the Panthers will begin at 11:00 AM with the nightcap against the Cardinals getting underway at 4:10 PM. Only game two will be streamed live on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.
Follow Manhattan Softball on X (@JaspersSoftball) and Instagram (@jasperssoftball).
