Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University baseball team surged past Manhattanville College in a doubleheader sweep on Sunday afternoon at Yogi Berra Stadium.

The Red Hawks (16-3) took down the Valiants 7-3 in a seven-inning game one, and followed it up with an 11-5 comeback victory in the second contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a 1-2-3 start to game one for JACK HAVESON, the Red Hawks broke the scoring open in the bottom of the first on a three-run home run to left field from JOE GISONDA. Haveson sent down the next three batters, and MILES FEASTER brought home another marker to make the margin four after two innings.
• SAM ANGELO increased the Montclair lead to six in the fourth, as he singled up the middle to bring home REECE MALEK and ZACH STEARNS. Haveson struck out the side in the fifth and finished his day with a 1-2-3 sixth. Angelo singled in the sixth to drive in Malek to make it a 7-0 lead, but the Valiants started to rally in the seventh. 
• With the bases loaded and no outs, Manhattanville plated two runs on consecutive fielder's choices. Later in the inning, they used a single up the middle to bring in another run, but TOBY SMITH entered the contest in relief and struck out the final batter of the game. 
• Manhattanville struck first in the second game, plating two runs in the top of the third on a fielder's choice and single to left field. The Red Hawks quickly leveled in the frame as Angelo came home on a fielder's choice, and MATT KALISKE doubled to right field to drive in Gisonda. 
• The Valiants threatened in the fourth with a runner on third, but SEBASTIAN ECKER ended the frame on a strikeout. Ecker retired the side on three batters in the fifth, and Montclair took their first lead of the game in the stanza on an RBI single to center field from JASON MOORE.
• With the score 3-2 in the eighth, Manhattanville pushed to take the lead, plating three runs on three consecutive at-bats to make the score 5-3 going into the bottom of the inning.
• Montclair staged a rally in the eighth to regain the lead. Malek scored on a throwing error by the Manhattanville third baseman to cut the deficit to one, and Feaster came home following a bases loaded walk to level the game. Kaliske drove in two runs on a single through the right side, and Gisonda scored on a fielder's choice to make the lead three. Malek homered to right two batters later to bring in three runs to make the final score 11-5. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Angelo finished with five hits and three RBI across the two contests. He increased his on-base streak to 44 consecutive games dating back to March 24, 2023. 
• Gisonda finished with a team-high five RBI across the two games. He has recorded 15 RBI over Montclair's last eight contests.
• Kaliske finished the day with five hits and three RBI. He has accumulated nine hits and eight RBI against the Valiants over the last two seasons.
• Haveson finished his start with six shutout innings and seven strikeouts while allowing just two baserunners. It marked the second time this season he has accumulated six shutout innings in a start, and the seventh time this season in which a Montclair starter has recorded six or more shutout innings.
• Smith recorded his first career save to cap off the first game. Ecker threw a career-high five innings in the second game, striking out six.
• The Red Hawks have won seven consecutive games against Manhattanville dating back to 2019.
• Montclair is 52-11 at Yogi Berra Stadium since the 2020 season. They have outscored opponents 83-53 at home during the 2024 campaign.

FROM THE FIELD

"Good to get a sweep - game one I thought was one of our most complete games of the year followed by a game that showed our team has resiliency and fight in them!" - Head Coach Dave Lorber

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will close their homestand on Tuesday, March 26 against DeSales University. First pitch from Yogi Berra Stadium is scheduled for 3:00 PM.