May 21, 2010
Replay the Live Blog
Final Stats
Manhattan is heading to the MAAC Tournament, and stunned Siena is heading home for the summer. Anthony Armenio singled home the winning run past a drawn in infield in the bottom of the 10th with one out, and the Jaspers rallied from 12 runs down in the seventh to pull off an impossible 19-18 victory here in the Bronx, securing a bid to next week's MAAC Championships.
If Siena could have held its huge lead, it would be the team destined for the postseason. Instead, a long offseason awaits after one of the most disheartening losses in program history. The Saints needed a victory and a Niagara loss to make the four-team Tournament. The Purple Eagles cooperated, falling 11-4 to Canisius, but it wasn't meant to be.
The Saints slugged their way to a 17-5 lead after their first seven at bats, but their bullpen imploded. Manhattan made its move after the seventh inning stretch, scoring seven times with just two hits to cut the lead to 17-12. The two hits were big: Chad Salem started the rally with a two-run home run and Kevin Nieto hit a three-run shot to finish off the frame. Sandwiched between were three walks and two hit batters.
Still, Siena seemed comfortably in control after they tacked on an insurance run on Kyle Baldani's eighth-inning sacrifice fly to take an 18-12 lead.
They led 18-14 entering the bottom of the ninth, and came within inches of hanging on.
Mike McCann walked to start the Jaspers' ninth and Salem followed with his second home run of the game to make it 18-16. After Armenio singled, Siena reliever Anthony Giansanti got Austin Sheffield to ground out, and struck out Anthony Vega.
Standing just one out away from an improbable MAAC Championship bid, Siena could not seal the deal. Kyle Murphy laced a RBI double to right center to make it 18-17, setting the stage for the game's defining sequence.
Pinch hitter Ramon Ortega lofted a shallow fly down the left field line. Baldani charged hard from his left field perch, and seemed to have a beat on the ball. He slid on his back side and the ball hit the heel of his glove and bounced free just inside the foul line. Murphy scored the tying run on the play which was scored an RBI double, and although Giansanti got out of the inning by inducing a ground out, it only prolonged the agony.
Siena went in order in the 10th and Head Coach Tony Rossi turned to game one starter Kyle Sumple in the bottom of the inning. Sumple struck out Kevin Nieto, but then gave up consecutive singles to place runners on the corners with one out for Armenio. The senior catcher hit a hard grounder past third baseman Bill Cardona, who was drawn in to cutoff the run, and had no chance to make a play.
Bedlam ensued as the Jaspers celebrated their unlikely victory.
Salem was the obvious offensive star for Manhattan, finishing 5-for-6 with seven RBI, two home runs and four runs scored. Mike McCann had three hits and five runs scored, Armenio ended 3-for-6 with three RBI, a home run and three runs scored, and Kyle Murphy was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
The Saints put up some gaudy offensive numbers of their own. Baldani was 4-for-5 with five RBI and four runs scored. Giasnanti, Mike Fish, Kevin Quaranto, Mike Allen and Cardona each finished with two hits. Cardona drove in five runs, three coming on his seventh inning homer that seemingly put the game out of reach.
Siena scored five times in the first, chasing starter Tom Costigan before he retired a batter. Reliever Mike Gazzola didn't fair much better, allowing six runs in 1.2 innings of work, as Siena knocked him out of the game with a four-run second. Giansanti came to the plate for the third time in the third inning with the Saints leading 9-1 and Manhattan having sent just nine men to the plate.
Notes: The game lasted four hours and eight minutes and was played under brilliant sunshine with temperatures reaching the mid-80s. The two teams combined for 37 runs and 36 hits. It marked the seventh straight year Manhattan has won the series with Siena. The Saints fail to qualify to the MAAC Championships for a second straight year after advancing to the Conference Championship Game in 2008. Dan Paolini enjoyed perhaps the best offensive season in program history. He finished the year with a MAAC-record 26 home runs, drove in 64 runs and scored 62 times. Paolini is headed to the Cape Cod League this summer and will play for the Chatham A's. He batted .368 this year. Teammate Kevin Quaranto ends his season with a 23-game hitting streak. Quaranto fell just one hit shy of the program single-season mark (85) set by Paolini (86) last year. He batted .413 with a school record 23 doubles, homered 12 times and drove in 54 runs. Anthony Giansanti, who was drafted by the Oakland As last season, enjoyed one of the great careers in Siena history, As a senior, he batted .336 and stole 25 bases. Giansanti also saved six games and did not allow a run out of the bullpen until this weekend.
