NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (Interstat) — The Manhattan Jaspers and Iona Gaels meet Saturday afternoon at City Park for the rubber match of their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference series, with postseason implications hanging on every pitch.

Manhattan (20-28) took Friday’s contest 6-3, after Iona (18-28) won Thursday 7-2. Saturday’s winner claims the three-game set, and both teams are jockeying for position ahead of the MAAC tournament.

Right-hander Braedon Romero is scheduled to start for Manhattan. The junior fired five scoreless innings in Friday’s win, allowing zero hits and two earned runs while striking out five. Over his last five appearances, Romero has posted a 3.18 ERA across 17 1/3 innings, with 16 strikeouts. He has been particularly effective when he keeps the ball in the yard, and the Gaels will need to force him into the strike zone early.

Iona counters with sophomore lefty Luke Lang, who absorbed the loss Friday despite a solid outing: five innings, seven hits, three earned runs and eight strikeouts. Lang has been dominant in stretches this season — he tossed eight shutout innings with six strikeouts in a 9-1 win at Siena on May 8 — but has also been prone to high pitch counts. His 4.50 ERA over his last five starts reflects that inconsistency.

In Friday’s game, Manhattan third baseman Vincent Samuel went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs. Reliever Andrew Brown worked two scoreless innings for the save. For Iona, catcher Chavis Conceicao drove in two runs, and reliever Tyler Lender struck out one in a clean inning.

Weather at game time is forecast for 62 degrees with cloud cover, a slight advantage for pitchers.

Manhattan’s offense has been streaky, averaging nearly seven runs in its past four wins but managing only two in Thursday’s loss. Iona’s lineup has struggled to string together hits, scoring three or fewer runs in four of its last six games.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, the projected final score is Manhattan 5, Iona 4. Interstat’s ELO system gives the Jaspers a 60.6 percent probability to win.

First pitch is set for 2 p.m.