PURCHASE, N.Y.- One week after splitting a wild home doubleheader with 47 total runs, Eastern University Baseball battled at Manhattanville College for a more traditional looking split. The host Valiants won the opener 2-1, and the Eagles jumped to a 5-0 lead in the second game and held on for a 5-4 win.

Manhattanville scored twice in the first inning off Eastern and manged just two hits the rest of the way. Those two runs, however, were enough as Manhattanville starter Alex Basso scattered six hits over seven innings. Joel Rios knocked in the only Eastern run in the game with a two-out single in the third. 

It appeared that the Eagles had tied the game in the seventh on a deep drive from Mark Royer that cleared the fence, but the shot was ruled foul. Royer battled back and singled to left, and the next two Eastern batters reached, but Basso worked out of the jam to earn the win.

"Mike pitched really well today," said Head Coach Matt Midkiff, "but their kid did too. It was a good, clean, well-pitched game. We competed for the whole day."

The Eastern hitters had more success early in game two. André Butler led off the contest with a walk, and he reached second when Derek Ryan reached on an error. McNulty drove in Butler with a double, and Greg DeSarro lifted a fly to center to drive in the second run of the game with a sacrifice fly.

Jim Edelman, who pitched five plus innings in the game, cruised through the first five innings with only four hits allowed. The Eagles picked up three more runs in the third. Dan Garcia delivered the big blow with a two-out double to drive in a pair. Kristian Cortizo then drove Garcia in with another double.

"It was good to see us pick up two-out RBIs today," Midkiff related, "I think that shows we had a good approach and we stuck with innings. That is what it will take for us the rest of the way."

The Valiants (11-5, 3-3 Freedom) lost a chance to cut into the deficit on an unconventional double play to end the fifth. With runners on first and third, a flare into short center field looked like it would drop, but Butler got to it and fired to third to end the inning.

Manhattanville scored four runs in the sixth. Edelman was charged with all the runs. John Taylor earned the last six outs of the game to earn the save.

The  teams will conclude the series with a nine inning game tomorrow at 2:00 pm in St. Davids.