DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – Senior Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) homered and drove in five runs as the top-seeded Manhattanville College softball team defeated fourth-seeded Misericordia University in game five of the 2017 MAC Freedom Softball Championships, hosted by Delaware Valley University on Sunday.
 
With the win, Manhattanville (28-13) advances to the championship round of the MAC Freedom Tournament, where the team will need to beat third-seeded King's (Pa.) College twice in order to capture the MAC Freedom Championship. Game one is set for a 1 p.m. start.
 
Diemicke had a big day at the plate for the Valiants, launching a three-run homer and driving in two more. Classmate Alicia Marino (Mahopac, N.Y./Pleasantville) also drove in two runs while sophomore Evonne Torres (Hacienda Heights, Calif./Pioneer) had a pair of hits and drove in one run.
 
Junior Alycia Feeney (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) picked up her 15th win of the year with her eighth shutout of the season, scattering three hits and striking out two in stranding six Cougar runners on base.
 
Feeney escaped the first jam of the game in the second inning after Misericordia (21-22) put runners on the corners with none out. The junior induced a pop up to shortstop for the first out, then gobbled up back-to-back grounders to the circle to keep the game scoreless.
 
Misericordia threatened again in the third, leaving the bases loaded. Freshman Melina Strano (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) made a great diving catch in right field for the first out, which proved to be huge later in the frame. Diemicke made a good stop to get the lead runner at third base for the second out, and then sophomore Sophia Chapelone (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) grabbed a grounder in the hole and tossed to Marino at third base for the final out with the bases loaded.
 
The Valiants carried that momentum into the bottom half, scoring seven times to break the game open. Torres started the rally with a RBI single to score freshman Sam Jedrey (La Canada Flintridge, Calif./La Canada), followed by a two-run single off the third baseman's glove by Marino. Diemicke then doubled the Valiant advantage with a three-run homer to center, her eighth long ball of the year. Strano added a sacrifice fly to score sophomore Aarin Hartenstein (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) to give the Valiants a seven-run cushion.
 
Manhattanville reached the eight-run margin in the bottom of the fourth with two more runs. An infield grounder from Diemicke resulted in Chapelone and sophomore pinch-hitter Alexa Grniet (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) both coming around, after the pair started the inning with a walk and single, respectively.