Manhattan College hopes to continue streak

It was about a month ago, April 24 to be exact, when the Manhattan College baseball team looked to be a long shot at best at earning its way into the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament this season.

The Jaspers had just dropped a 10-4 decision to Quinnipiac that saw their conference record drop to 4-8 and a second straight tournament-less season seemed to be on tap. And when you toss in the fact that Manhattan’s roster was severely depleted by major injuries, well, it just didn’t have the look of a memorable season developing in Riverdale for the Jaspers.

But a funny thing happened on the way to that lost season. The undermanned Jaspers began to come together through great adversity. They won their final four conference series of the year — including taking two of three from top-ranked Fairfield on the road — and won seven of their final nine games of the season. And when the final field was announced for the 2016 MAAC Baseball Tournament, there were the Jaspers making the cut.

“We got off to a rough start in conference and we really had to buckle down and figure some things out,” Manhattan head coach Jim Duffy said. “The team as a whole went through a lot of adversity. We had six season-ending injuries. We had one pitcher go down with an elbow injury and needed Tommy John surgery and we also lost five position players and in college baseball that is really hard to overcome. We started the season with 15 or 16 position players and we’ve been rolling the last three weeks or so with only 11 position players. We only have three guys on the bench. It’s crazy.”

Crazy or not, the Jaspers are in as the tournament’s sixth and final seed and when the tourney gets underway beginning Wednesday at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, Manhattan (22-29 overall, 13-11 in MAAC) will try to continue its hot play with a strong ride through the tournament and grab the coveted invite to the NCAA Tournament.

“I give the kids a lot of credit. They had to overcome these injuries,” Duffy said. “We also lost our first four series in the MAAC and we were 4-8 and at that time we were really down and out. But I noticed something about this team.

“They were really down and really bummed out about being 4-8 but our guys cared and they kept grinding it out. And since we were 4-8 we’ve won nine of the last 12 [in conference],” he continued. “They are just a really determined, gritty bunch. Now we’re playing our best baseball of the year at the right time. These guys are really swinging the bats really well. They’re the hottest they’ve been all season.”

And the hottest of those bats belongs to stellar senior Christian Santisteban, the Jaspers all-everything right fielder. Santisteban is currently enjoying a season in which he leads the Jaspers in batting (.376), hits (71) and is tied for lead in homers with seven. He’s also second in runs scored (42) and RBI (45) and is third in doubles (19). And those numbers are no fluke. Santisteban came into the season as the MAAC’s Preseason Player of the Year.

Hotter than ever

And somehow Santisteban accomplished all of that while also earning honors in Manhattan’s prestigious School of Engineering, from which he graduated this past Sunday.

“I can’t tell you how proud of him I am. He just graduated with an engineering degree from Manhattan College, which is tough enough as it is, whether you’re a baseball player or not,” Duffy said. “And he graduated with honors and the kid was preseason Player of the Year. Sometimes that’s the kiss of death and it puts the hex on you, but he’s done nothing but own up to that and he’s hotter now than he’s ever been. He had two home runs going into the last two weeks and then he hit five in the last two weeks. That’s typical of him. He’s a real confident kid and he shows up when his team needs him. He’s just been a blessing to have. He’s done everything he’s been asked to do and more.”

As wonderful as graduation day was for Santisteban and his family, which made the trip to Riverdale from their home in Miami, it didn’t take long for his thoughts to drift back to baseball once he had his diploma in hand.  

“Sunday was great. My family was here. My mom, my dad, my sisters and my nieces and nephews and it was a really great experience,” Santisteban said. “I remember sitting in graduation thinking, ‘Man this is really over. But baseball is not over for me.’ The first thing after graduation was over my dad said, ‘Congratulations, but it’s time to go get a ring.’ That’s the number one focus on my mind right now. I’m happy I graduated with an engineering degree from a great institution but the number one goal now is to win a MAAC championship.”

Confidence boost

The Jaspers were scheduled to meet third-seeded Monmouth University in their first game at noon on Wednesday. Manhattan went 1-2 against the Hawks during the season with two of the games being decided by one run. Should the Jaspers win their first game in the double-elimination tournament, they would face either top-seeded Fairfield or No. 2 seed Siena. A loss to Monmouth would drop Manhattan into the loser’s bracket game, where it would meet either No. 4 Canisius or No. 5 Marist.

“These last four weekends, we’ve gained a lot of confidence,” Santisteban said. “On paper we’re the sixth seed but the one seed is Fairfield and we took two of three from them at their place. We haven’t played [No. 2 seed] Siena but we know that team very well. Monmouth beat us two of three but we played them really well so that will be a good matchup on Wednesday. And we also played [No. 4] Canisius and [No. 5] Marist really well also but we played them early in the season when we were still trying to figure it out with all the injuries and we didn’t know who was going to play where. So honestly, now I feel we’re very confident and I don’t feel like we’re a six seed at all. It’s going to be really tough to beat us in this tournament.”

Duffy said he will throw sophomore lefthander Tom Cosgrove versus Monmouth in the Jaspers playoff opener with junior righthander Joey Rocchietti getting the call for Game Two.  So can this team, left for dead just a month ago, pull off the shocker and win the MAAC Tournament? Both coach and player feel very strongly that it is in the cards for the Jaspers.

“I’ll give you my professional opinion,” Duffy said. “Were not the best baseball team in the MAAC but we might be right now. As a sixth seed I’m hoping we’re overlooked. That would be great.”

Santisteban doesn’t think the MAAC should sleep on these Jaspers because they just may be the hottest team entering the tournament this week.

“People are going to doubt us because we’re the No. 6 seed,” Santisteban said. “People already think they have us beat but we think we’re a force to be reckoned with and I honestly think it’s going to be really hard for anyone to beat us. And winning the tournament, it would be great to go out on top in my senior year.”