BOYERTOWN, Pa. – Following a loss in its first game of the day, the top-seeded Manhattanville baseball team rebounded with a 10-2 win over second-seeded Wilkes University and stayed alive in the 2009 Freedom Conference Baseball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Bear Stadium.

Manhattanville (25-16, 11-5 Freedom) lives to see another day in the tournament, as the Valiants will take on the loser of tonight’s final game between three-seed Alvernia University and fifth-seed FDU-Florham tomorrow morning in another elimination game beginning at 10 a.m. Wilkes (28-11, 11-5 Freedom) is eliminated from the conference postseason with the loss.

Freshman Pat Yannucci (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) prolonged the offensive struggles for the Colonels, who were no-hit in their first game of the day against Alvernia and managed just eight hits and two runs against the Valiants. The freshman righthander (6-1) went the distance for the third time this season, doubling his previous season high with eight strikeouts and allowing just one earned run.

Senior Stephen Pinto (Yonkers, N.Y.) was Manhattanville’s leader at the plate, as the captain went a perfect 3-for-3 with five runs batted in and three runs scored. Juniors Nick Parente (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and Chris Nastasi (Bayville, N.Y.) each had three hits as well for the Valiants, with Parente tying for the game high by crossing the plate three times.

Wilkes pushed across an unearned run in the top of the first inning, but the Valiants came back with two in the bottom half to take their first lead of the game. Pinto began the frame with a single and sophomore Joe Gallace (Harrison, N.Y.) placed a perfect sacrifice bunt down the first base line that resulted in a throwing error by Colonel starter Ryan Fetterman, and RBI singles by junior Kevin Murray (Valhalla, N.Y.) and Nastasi brought them home.

After Yannucci breezed through the top of the second, Pinto provided his starter with a little breathing room by smacking a three-run homer well over the left-center field fence to give the Valiants a 5-1 edge after two.

Following the first inning, Yannucci did not allow a Colonel runner past second base until the eighth, by which time the Valiants had built up a 10-1 advantage. Manhattanville scored twice in the fourth and sixth innings to take the insurmountable lead, with Pinto driving in a run in each frame. A wild pitch scored Parente in the fourth and Murray added an RBI single in the sixth as well to account for the final Valiant scores of the afternoon.

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