Softball Shuts Down Manhattan Saturday

Saturday, April 30

West Point, NY

1 PM

Army West Point

32-17

Manhattan

24-18

Manhattan

Army

Softball Shuts Down Manhattan Saturday

April 30, 2016 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point softball team picked up two non-conference wins Saturday with a sweep over Manhattan. The Black Knights shut out the Jaspers 5-0 in game one before downing them 3-2 in the second game of the doubleheader.

The Cadets reached win 33 today to mark just the second time in program history that a team has done so in the regular season. Army amassed 35 regular season wins back in 2012 and finished the year with a 37-21 record.

"Today had a few people on the left side playing out of their normal positions," said head coach Michelle DePolo. "We settled in nicely as the day went on and saw some tremendous plays from that side. I think it speaks volumes of our pitching a defense when we can have several miscues, even in the same inning, and still get a shutout."

Army took an early 3-0 lead over the Jaspers in the first inning. Mae Wadyka was walked as the lead-off hitter before Kasey McCravey laced a single up the middle to put the Black Knights into scoring position. Emily Gray was next up to bat and hit a deep single to right center field which allowed Wadyka to round the bases and find home. Maddie Kim hit a floater to left field and added two RBI as McCravey and Gray scored to put Army ahead 3-0.

The Black Knights got out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the fourth to maintain their 3-0 lead. The Jaspers loaded the bases with three errors charged to Army, but the Cadets' defense kept them off the board.

No runs were scored for the next four and a half innings by either team until the home half of the sixth when a bizarre play accrued two runs for the Black Knights. Taylor Gaff was walked as a pinch hitter for the Cadets, but the Jaspers made an attempt to tag pinch runner Tyler McKinney, but overthrew first. McKinney took advantage and ran home all the way from first base as Gaff advanced to second.

Hailey Megge then subbed in as the pinch runner in scoring position and scored off a sacrifice fly by Wadyka to clinch the game with a 5-0 win. Caroline Smith won the game and recorded the shutout with three strikeouts for her 11th win of the season.

In game two, the Black Knights got on top early with a 1-0 lead. McCravey reached first on a single to the short stop. Alee Rashenskas then singled to left field to push McCravey into scoring position. An RBI single by Gray up the middle pushed McCravey home to give Army the lead.

The Jaspers tallied their first run of the day in the top of the third after taking advantage of a Cadets error. This tied the second game 1-1 before the Black Knights took a 2-1 lead in the fourth with a bases loaded walk.

However, Manhattan did not go quietly and tacked on another tying run in the top of the fifth fueled by a one-run homer to the scoreboard by J. Vasquez. Army snapped the tie in the home half of the inning when Smith hit a sacrifice fly allowing Gray to cross home plate to put the Black Knights up 3-2.

In the top of the seventh, Renee Poirier stepped to the mound in relief for Kristen West. The Jaspers had two on with one out, but the Black Knights got out of the jam after a double play sequence from Rashenskas to McCravey to Gaff. Army won the game 3-2 with West as the winning pitcher to pick up her 14th of the year, and Poirier as the saver with her 10th.

"Both the ability of our defense and their supportive attitudes toward the pitchers, give the pitchers a lot of confidence on the mound," said DePolo. "Our team is all about keeping it simple and playing their role in the success of the team as a whole. They know they are in it together so they help each other move forward through every play."

Kim went a perfect 2-for-2 in game one and added two RBI for the Black Knights. Gray hit .800 in the doubleheader and also tallied two RBI off four hits. McCravey notched three hits, while Kim, Gaff and smith each had two.

The Black Knights will be on the road Tuesday, May 3 for a doubleheader against non-conference foe Hartford. Army returns home for its final regular season Patriot League series as it hosts Lafayette Saturday and Sunday.

For up-to-date information about Army softball, please follow @ArmyWP_Softball on Twitter and Instagram.