Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore

PURCHASE, N.Y. – In a battle of the top-two teams in the Freedom Conference preseason coaches' poll, senior Samantha Howe (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./John Jay) dominated in the circle and sophomore Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) had four hits at the plate to lead Manhattanville to a pair of wins over DeSales University, 7-0 and 6-2, in the teams' Freedom Conference opener on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Manhattanville Field.

Howe (3-3) was stellar in the circle for Manhattanville against the conference preseason favorites, allowing just two runs and 11 hits in a pair of complete-game wins. The senior righthander struck out seven over 14 innings and allowed runs in just one frame.

There was no shortage of stars at the plate for Manhattanville, either, with Van Galen leading the way by going 4 for 7 with a homer, double and three runs scored. Senior Lindsay Zekus (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y./Sleepy Hollow) and sophomore Lynsey Schill (Waterloo, Ont./St. David Catholic) each had three hits for the Valiants as well, with Zekus also driving in three and Schill driving in one and scoring twice.

Manhattanville took game one of the doubleheader by a 7-0 score behind the arm of Howe, who scattered five hits while striking out five and allowing just two runners to reach third base.

For the Valiants, all the runs needed came in the second inning, when the home team scored six times to break the game open early. Singles by Van Galen, junior Ashley Dell (Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington) and Howe loaded the bases with one out, and that was followed by another base hit by sophomore Erin Sidjak (Delta, British Columbia/Burnsview) and a bases-loaded walk to sophomore Amanda Locke (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) that put the home team up by two.

A DeSales throwing error and another bases-loaded walk to Zekus doubled the Valiant lead, while another run scored when Bulldog first baseman Christine Petrilla ran out of play after catching a foul pop by Schill along the first-base line. Van Galen then beat out an infield single to the shortstop to score senior Nicole Bifulco (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) with the sixth and final run of the frame.

Pitching with a big lead, Howe then kept DeSales off balance for the rest of the contest on the way to the shutout win. Her only real trouble of the contest came in the fourth, when Jen Lococo led off with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch with no outs. But Howe induced a pair of infield ground outs and then struck out Julie Brugger to end the threat.

Manhattanville added one more in the bottom of the fourth, when Schill scored after Kate Steiner threw the ball into center field trying to force Van Galen at second base. Lococo (1-3) was knocked out after the fourth inning, allowing all seven runs (three earned) on nine hits to suffer the loss.

DeSales got on the board first in the second game, but Manhattanville came back with six unanswered runs to complete the sweep with a 6-2 victory.

The Bulldogs scored twice in the top of the second to open the scoring. After Howe retired the first two batters, DeSales strung together four straight singles, the last of which was a base hit by Kristen Schultz that scored a pair. The Valiants got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning, when Dell led off with a walk and eventually scampered home on a wild pitch.

Manhattanville continued the offensive attack in the third inning, scoring four runs to regain the lead for good. Bifulco led off with a walk and then made a great hustle play by taking two bases on a wild pitch to the backstop, which allowed her to score on a subsequent infield single by Zekus. Schill followed up with a rope to left center that knocked out DeSales starter Katie Morrissey (1-2) after Zekus came all the way around to score thanks to a beautiful hook slide around the catcher to beat the throw at home plate.

Van Galen then stepped to the plate against new pitcher Brittany Wilson and had a great at-bat, fouling off four pitches and taking three balls after going down 0-2 before lining a ball over the right-field fence for a two-run homer that put the Valiants up by three after three.

That was more than enough for Howe, who continued to mow through the Bulldog lineup. The senior allowed just three baserunners and no one got past second base in the final four frames, as she allowed DeSales to pound the ball into the infield dirt. In all, 16 of Howe's 21 outs came via the ground ball.

Manhattanville (3-4, 2-0 Freedom) will look to keep the good conference start going on Wednesday, when the Valiants travel to King's (Pa.) College for a rare mid-week Freedom doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. DeSales (4-6, 0-2 Freedom) will host Kean University for two games on Thursday starting at 3 p.m.