HAMDEN, Conn. – The Manhattan Jaspers softball team (9-24, 5-9 MAAC), on the backs of a full seven innings pitched from Karissa Spring, won its conference contest against the Bobcats from Quinnipiac (17-11, 13-4 MAAC), by the final score of 5-1 at Quinnipiac Softball Field on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED


Brianna Estevez had her offense in check right away, securing an infield single off a bunt as the leadoff batter in the opening inning. 
After failing to generate any further offense, the next three half innings saw no baserunners for either side, setting up the start of the third frame.
Isabella Coulman, Estevez, and Samantha Kelly all reached base in consecutive order, loading the bases. 
Natalye DeBus made contact with the ball, but staying within the infield made the out at home the logical play before Lainey Brown’s strikeout ended the inning. 
Starter Karissa Spring kept the Bobcat bats at bay in the early going, remaining perfect through the first three innings. 
With Kendall Penny and Adriana Giomi in scoring position with one out in the top of the fourth, Angelina Gencarelli singled down the left field line to bring both home and give the visitors a 2-0 edge. 
Estevez made it to first base on an error with two outs, with the lapse being enough to score Gencarelli from second base for a third run. 
In the home half of the frame, Quinnipiac had a runner on a second base by the second batter with no outs. However, three consecutive putouts didn’t let any runner get past that point to hold the shutout. 
A sacrifice fly scored the Bobcats’ lone run in the fifth.
Following Coulman reaching on a fielder’s choice in the top of the sixth, Estevez sent a ball over the fence to double the Jasper lead from two to four. 
Other than a runner reaching third in the home half of the sixth, Quinnipiac was unable to muster any more offensive chances, giving Manhattan their fifth conference win. 

STATS AND NOTES


Sophomore utility player Brianna Estevez accumulated her third home run of 2026, tying for the team lead in RBI with two. 
Sophomore utility player Angelina Gencarelli tied her teammate after her two-RBI single. 
Freshman shortstop Samantha Kelly led the team in hits, as the lone Jasper to tally three.
Junior pitcher Karissa Spring allowed zero earned runs across a complete seven innings, only allowing four hits on 82 pitches. 

NEXT UP:

Manhattan will continue its 2026 campaign on Wednesday, April 8, when they deviate from the conference schedule to take on fellow New York City program, the Rams from Fordham. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM from Bahoshy Field, and can be viewed live on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.

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

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