Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore

PURCHASE, N.Y. – Behind the pitching of Angel Iacovetti, Hunter College swept a non-conference doubleheader from the Manhattanville softball team on Wednesday afternoon. The Hawks came back to take the first game, 2-1 (8 inn.), and then earned the sweep with a 6-3 victory in game two.

The first game was a frustrating outing for the Valiants, as the home team left 12 runners on base and missed countless opportunities before allowing the Hawks to come back and earn a 2-1 win in eight innings.

Manhattanville manufactured its first run in the bottom of the fourth inning, as sophomore Brianna Scapperotti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) led off with bunt single, stole second base and then was sacrificed to third with one down. After a strikeout, classmate Lynsey Schill (Waterloo, Ont./St. David Catholic) came up to pinch hit and laced a double to left center to put the home team up by one.

Howe got out of a big jam in the top of the fifth to temporarily keep her team ahead, as the Hawks had runners at the corners with none out. She induced a pop out from Christina Baker that turned into a double play when senior Nicole Bifulco (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) caught Josephine Estevez straying off first, and then ended the frame with a strikeout of Molly Meehan.

The senior hurler was not so lucky in the sixth inning, when a two-out single by Megan McKenna was amplified by a fielding error that allowed her to reach third. A subsequent double by Sophia Ponce knotted the score at one, where the game stayed until the eighth inning.

With international tiebreaker rules applied at a Valiant home game for the fourth time this month, the Hawks struck first in the top half on an RBI single by Julia Lipovac. Manhattanville had its chance with first and third and no outs in the bottom half of the eighth, but in continuing with the theme of the day junior Ashley Dell (Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington) was stranded at third and the Valiants suffered a tough defeat.

Howe (9-7) was the hard-luck loser for Manhattanville, allowing two unearned runs on five hits while striking out six in eight frames. Iacovetti (8-4) picked up the win for Hunter, allowing just one run on eight hits with nine punch outs in eight innings.

After a tough first game, Hunter scored the first six runs of the game in game two on the way to a 6-3 victory.

Three hits and a pair of walks off Schill allowed the visitors to take an early lead, and Hunter came back with three more in the third off the sophomore to take a six-run lead after two and a half innings.

Sophomore Michelle Ferlito (Lindenhurst, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) came on in relief for the Valiants and, after a hit batter and walk to the first two hitters she faced, was stellar in the circle. After those first two missteps, she retired 15 straight Hawks to close out the game and allow her team time to get back into the contest.

The Valiants got three of the runs back in the fourth inning, beginning with an RBI single by sophomore Erin Sidjak (Delta, British Columbia/Burnsview) to score Dell, who led off the frame with a walk. A fielder's choice ground out by sophomore Amanda Locke (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) scored Scapperotti with a second run, while senior Lindsay Zekus (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y./Sleepy Hollow) followed with a shot to center that scored sophomore Kim Angiolillo (White Plains, N.Y./Good Counsel Academy).

However, the Valiants could get no more off of Iacovetti, who came on in relief in the fourth inning and shut the home team down the rest of the way. She also did not allow a hit in her second stint in the circle of the day, tossing 3.2 perfect frames to earn her second win of the day. Schill (1-2) took the loss for the Valiants, allowing six runs on seven hits in two-plus innings.

Manhattanville (10-11, 7-2 Freedom) will return to Freedom Conference play on Friday, as the Valiants travel to FDU-Florham for a key conference doubleheader starting at noon. Hunter (16-8-2, 8-1-1 CUNYAC) will travel to SUNY Old Westbury tomorrow starting at 4 p.m.