RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan Jaspers softball team (15-36, 10-17 MAAC), despite a dramatic seventh-inning comeback to force an extra frame in game two, fell in both of its contests against the Gaels from Iona (23-24, 17-10 MAAC), by the final scores of 4-0 and 9-7 at Gaelic Park on Friday afternoon.

GAME ONE: Manhattan 0, Iona 4

• Offense waited a little while to come around this afternoon, as the two teams combined for just three hits across the first two innings, as starter Karissa Spring forced the visitors to leave three on base as well. 
• In the top of the third, Iona used two doubles and a sacrifice fly to score their first pair of runs of the contest, going up 2-0 through three.
• Spring once again survived two more scares, with runners on second and third in the fourth and bases loaded in the fifth, but escaping both unscathed. 
• Later on in the seventh, the Gaels added two insurance runs before the home half. 
• Head Coach Bridget Hurlman used two pinch hitters in the final frame in Kendall Penny and Victoria Diaz, but a 1-2-3 inning ended the matinee.

• The difference in games one and two were night and day, as Iona got on the board immediately with an RBI double.
• Natalye DeBus didn't wait any longer to put the Jaspers on the board, as a two-run shot to dead center field gave Manhattan their first lead of the day at 2-1 after the first.
• After the visitors tied it in the top of the second, Brianna Estevez retook the lead with an RBI double of her own to score Penny. 
• An opposing home run from Brianna Fischer put the Gaels back on top in the third at 4-3.
• Following a scoreless fourth, Lainey Brown sent her own deep shot over the fence to score pinch runner Adriana Giomi, who was sent in following DeBus' single. 
• With the Green and White only needing three more outs for a victory, a sequence of sacrifice fly followed by an RBI single put Iona ahead on the scoreboard once again, this time showing 6-5 headed to the home half. 
• Brown was intentionally walked to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh, and after Kaitlyn Moody was struck by the fourth pitch she saw, Isabella Coulman jogged home to tie the game at six apiece to force extra innings.
• A solo home run put Iona on top, followed by two RBI doubles to increase the lead to 9-6 going to the bottom half. 
• Caitlin Gaetani and Coulman used two doubles to trim the lead to two, but a subsequent looking strikeout ended the nightcap at 9-7. 

STATS AND NOTES

• Freshman utility player Natalye DeBus led the team in hits with three, while adding two RBI with her 12th home run of the season.
• Freshman infielder Lainey Brown tied DeBus in RBI with two of her won after jacking her ninth home run in 2026. 
• Freshman catcher Kaitlyn Moody was the lone Jasper to earn hits in both games of Friday's doubleheader.
• Freshman catcher Kendall Penny was the third Manhattan player to grab two or more hits in the nightcap. 
• Junior pitcher Karissa Spring pitched a complete seven innings in today's matinee, allowing four earned runs off 11 hits. 

NEXT UP:

Manhattan will conclude its 2026 campaign tomorrow, May 2, when they wrap up their final MAAC series of the season against the Gaels from Iona. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM from Gaelic Park, with Senior Day ceremonies commencing at 11:50 AM, both streamed live on the Jasper Sports Network. 

Follow Manhattan Softball on X (@JaspersSoftball) and Instagram (@jasperssoftball).