Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore

UNION, N.J. – The Manhattanville softball team settled for a split in a non-conference doubleheader with Kean University on Wednesday afternoon, defeating the hosts by a 4-1 score in game one before dropping the second game, 13-8, at Cougar Field.

Game one was a home-run derby for the Valiants, as all four runs came via long balls by senior Lindsay Zekus (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y./Sleepy Hollow), junior Ashley Dell (Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington) and sophomore Brianna Scapperotti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison). Meanwhile, senior Samantha Howe (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./John Jay) limited the Kean offense to just three hits in the circle to earn the 4-1 win.

Scapperotti got the scoring started with two down in the top of the second inning, launching a solo shot over the left-field fence to give the visitors a lead. The advantage was increased to three in the fifth inning, as Zekus homered to left to score herself and sophomore Lourdes Arias (Bronx, N.Y./Herbert H. Lehman), while the third long ball of the game came off the bat of Dell in the sixth to give the Valiants a 4-0 lead.

Kean got one unearned run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but that was all the Cougars could muster against Howe (11-9), who allowed just one hit outside the sixth frame and three overall for the game. The senior struck out six in the seven-inning complete-game effort.

Scapperotti and classmate Amanda Locke (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) led the Valiants with two hits each in three at-bats.

The two teams did not need the long ball to have an offensive explosion in game two, as the Valiants and Cougars combined for 21 runs on 26 hits. Unfortunately for Manhattanville, 13 of the runs scored were by Kean as the home team earned a split with a 13-8 win.

Sophomore Lynsey Schill (Waterloo, Ont./St. David Catholic) led the offensive attack for Manhattanville, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore Kim Angiolillo (White Plains, N.Y./Good Counsel Academy) also had a pair of hits and two RBIs, while Scapperotti had a hit, an RBI and scored twice as well for the visitors.

The Valiants were behind the eight-ball early in game two, as the Cougars scored nine times in the first two innings off sophomore Michelle Ferlito (Lindenhurst, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) to gain a big advantage that the Valiants could never fully overcome.

Manhattanville attempted a comeback despite an early eight-run hole, getting one back in the second on an RBI single from Locke and one more on an Angiolillo RBI single in the fourth. In the fifth frame, the Valiants scored four times to make it a 9-6 game on back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles from Arias, Scapperotti and Angiolillo.

However, Kean came back with three more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, helping to nullify a pair of runs knocked in by Zekus and sophomore Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) in the top of the sixth.

Ferlito (1-2) took the loss for Manhattanville, allowing nine runs (four earned) on eight hits in 1.2 innings. Angiolillo came on to toss 2.2 innings of relief, allowing three runs, before Schill took her turn in the circle and allowed just one unearned run in the final 1.2 innings of the game. The Valiant staff was not helped out by its fielders, who combined for five errors that led to six unearned runs.

Manhattanville (12-14, 8-4 Freedom) will complete its Freedom Conference schedule on Saturday, as the Valiants look to lock up a berth in the conference tournament with two games at Wilkes University starting at noon. Kean (10-24, 7-9 NJAC) will travel to Rutgers-Camden for two games on Saturday at 1 p.m.