RIVERDALE, NY - The Iona College baseball team split a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference doubleheader with Manhattan at Van Cortlandt Park Saturday. After the Gaels took the opener 4-2, the Jaspers used a two-out rally in their final at bat to win the night cap 3-2.

In the opener senior RHP Kenny Dietrich tossed 6.2 strong innings, keeping Manhattan off the scoreboard while allowing three hits with two walks and striking out four batters to earn the win. Sophomore LHP Andrew Pucillo pitched the final out of the seventh inning and a clean eighth inning before allowing a home run in the ninth. Sophomore RHP John Daddino got the final two outs to earn his second straight save.

Iona took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning. Sophomore SS Vinny DeMaria led off the frame with a double and scored one pitch later as classmate DH Travis Mistretta doubled him home.

In the sixth, the Gaels used a two-out rally to score three times. Sophomore 1B Christian Choman began the charge by drawing an eight-pitch walk. Freshman RF Kyle DiVico walked on four straight pitches and the duo proceeded to advance a base on a passed ball. DeMaria followed with his second double of the game, plating two teammates and giving Iona a 3-0 advantage. Two batters later he scored on rookie 3B Tyler Bruno's base hit to right field.

Manhattan got on the board for the first time in their final at bat. A leadoff single by CF Chris Kalousidian was followed by a pinch-hit two-run home run by Vin Teixeira. After recording an out, Pucillo walked C Brendan Slattery and was relieved by Daddino. The sophomore induced a fielder's choice for the second out and walked the next batter to put the tying run on base. Daddino fought back from a 3-1 count, blowing a fastball by RF Jason Patnick and catching him looking on the final pitch of the game to earn the save.

DeMaria was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored to lead the Gaels.

In game two, the Jaspers took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning using a small ball approach to plate a run off starter Mariano Rivera on two base hits. A lead off single by 2B Jose Carrera was followed by a stolen base and a runner advancing groundout. A two-out single by DH Chris Santisteban gave the home team its first run.

Iona quickly answered in the next inning. Choman led off with an infield hit and advanced to second on a balk. Rookie C Alex Beckett picked up an RBI with a double down the left field line after a nine-pitch at bat. The Jaspers escaped further threat as starter Joe Jacques got a 1-2-3 double play ball with the bases loaded an no-outs.

The Maroon & Gold scored a go-ahead run in the fourth ining as Choman sarted the rally again with a base hit to right field. He was pushed to second base on a ground out and then reached third base as the inning was extended by a Manhattan error. Bruno came through again with a seeing-eye single through the right side for an RBI.

Meanwhile, after allowing the base hit that accounted for Manhattan's lone run, Rivera hit cruise control and retired the next 10 batters before the fifth inning. An infield pop fly by C Chris Reynolds was unable to be controlled by three Iona infielders and allowed the lead off runner to reach via an error. Reynolds stole second base and moved to third base on a wild pitch. After Rivera got a strikeout, SS Yoandry Galan evened the score with base hit that hit just inside the left field foul line to knot the score at 2-2. Rivera escaped the fifth allowing just one run, stranding the bases loaded after two hits and two errors in the inning.

Both teams went 1-2-3 in the sixth inning and the Gaels couldn't convert a one-out base runner in the seventh. Rivera retired the first two batters he faced in quick fashion. Galan went opposite field for a bloop double and put a runner on second. After an intentional walk, Kalousdian hit the first pitch he saw to the warning track in centerfield for the game-ending base hit.

Choman was 2-for-3 with two runs scored to lead the Gaels offensively. Rivera took the hard luck loss. He allowed six hits in 6.2 innings of work, two earned runs with a walk and three strikeouts in the loss.

The Gaels and Jaspers compete the three-game series tomorrow at Van Cortlandt Park.