EASTON, Pa. (Interstat) — The Lafayette Leopards capitalized on a pair of costly Manhattan errors in the bottom of the ninth inning to walk off with a 6-5 victory over the Jaspers on Wednesday afternoon at Kamine Stadium.

The game, which began in the afternoon and concluded in the evening, saw Lafayette improve to 7-17, while Manhattan fell to 10-15.

Manhattan built an early 5-0 lead with a four-run first inning off Lafayette starter Trey Zaffiro, who failed to record an out. Jeremy Sosa and Vincent Samuel were both hit by pitches, setting the table for run-scoring hits from Andreaus Lewis and Dylan Mayer, along with a sacrifice fly from Trevor Hansen.

Lafayette began chipping away, scoring once in the second on a wild pitch and adding another in the third when Ryan Ulisse scored from third on an error by Manhattan left fielder Dylan Mayer following a single by Alex Barrist.

The Jaspers extended their lead to 5-2 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Justin Best, but the Leopards answered in the bottom half on an RBI single from Matt Colella that scored Ulisse, who had doubled.

Lafayette tied the game with a two-run seventh inning against the Manhattan bullpen. Will Dobil scored on a bases-loaded walk by Barrist, and Ulisse came home on a sacrifice fly by Colella, knotting the score at 5.

The game remained tied into the bottom of the ninth. After Chris Fidanza relieved Jacob Smoot for Manhattan, Alex Barrist led off with a single to right field. Matt Colella then hit a ground ball to shortstop that was misplayed for an error, allowing Barrist to advance to third. The game ended when Manhattan center fielder Justin Best mishandled the ball on the play, permitting Barrist to score the unearned, winning run.

The most important sequence of the game was the final play, a defensive collapse by Manhattan that handed Lafayette the victory. With two outs and a runner on first, Colella’s routine grounder should have extended the inning. Instead, the error by shortstop Ryan Lordier put runners on the corners, and the subsequent fielding error by Best allowed the game to end abruptly.

Dylan Mayer led Manhattan’s eight-hit attack, going 3 for 4 with an RBI. Ryan Lordier had two hits and scored twice. For Lafayette, who collected seven hits, Alex Barrist went 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Ryan Ulisse scored three times.

Manhattan’s bullpen was stellar until the final frame. Ivan Epps provided 2 2/3 hitless innings of relief with two strikeouts, and Jacob Smoot tossed two perfect innings. For Lafayette, reliever Pat Walega steadied the game with 3 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs, while Braden Pomponi, Chase Rodgers and James Reese combined for four scoreless innings of one-hit ball to set up the ninth-inning rally.

The loss spoiled a strong relief effort by the Jaspers and marked their second one-run defeat in their last three games. Lafayette won its second straight following a blowout victory at Villanova on Tuesday.

Manhattan opens a three-game home series with Sacred Heart on Thursday. Lafayette begins Patriot League play with a doubleheader against Bucknell on Saturday.