Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Matt Karabin pitched a complete-game shutout and Justin Haddix also posted a strong showing on the mound as the Misericordia University baseball team defeated Manhattanville 5-0 and 7-2 on Saturday afternoon to sweep the Freedom Conference season series from the Valiants.
 
Julian Faria went 3-3 with three doubles and three RBI to lead the MU offense in game one while Joe Tagliarini had the hot bat in game two, hitting 3-4 with an RBI.
 
After Karabin retired the first six batters he faced, Steve Sulcoski got the Cougars' offense going with a single to open the bottom of the second. Following a Kenny Durling walk, Faria doubled to right field to score Sulcoski and give MU a 1-0 lead. Ryan Cacchioli followed with a single to score Durling, and a Tagliarini sacrifice fly would give the Cougars a 3-0 advantage through two innings.
 
That score would remain until the bottom of the fifth, when a bases-loaded, two-out double by Faria would score Chris Boroch and Sulcoski and make the score 5-0. The Cougars might have managed more offense in the inning, but the Valiant defense made a great throw to beat Durling out at the plate.
 
From there, Karabin and the MU defense took care of business to close out the shutout victory.
 
Karabin scattered six hits and a pair of walks over seven innings while striking out six batters.
 
Manhattanville jumped out to a quick lead in game two, using small-ball tactics to score a pair of runs after opening the inning with a double and a single.
 
Haddix entered the game in the top of the second, and immediately made an impact, striking out three batters in that inning alone to quiet the Manhattanville offense.
 
In the bottom of the second, Tagliarini and Boroch opened with consecutive singles to place runners on the corners, and a double steal would allow Tagliarini to score and cut the deficit to 2-1. Two batters later, Kyle Lindsay would single to center field to score Boroch and net the score at 2-2.
 
Haddix retired the side in the top of the third, and MU took its first lead of the game when Boroch reached on an error, allowing Durling to score.
 
A Sulcoski single in the bottom of the fourth scored Mike Comerford to extend the Cougar lead to 4-2, and the Cougars would add three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to close out the scoring.
 
Haddix earned the game two victory for MU, allowing just four hits and no runs while striking out four in four innings of action. Will Minderjahn made the start for the Cougars but threw just the opening inning. Cory Vogeli retired all six batters he faced in two innings of action, throwing one strikeout to preserve the win.
 
With the victory, the Cougars improved to 12-4 overall and 3-1 in Freedom action while Manhattanville fell to 3-11 and 1-4.
 
MU is scheduled to return to action against Moravian on Tuesday, weather permitting.