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Softball Huddle
Gene Boyars

Softball

Softball Starts the Fight for a Freedom Tournament Title on Friday

PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville softball team struggled toward the end of the regular season and needed some fortuitous tiebreaking help in order to reach the postseason, but now the Valiants look to make the most of that second chance in this weekend's Freedom Conference Tournament, which will be held on Friday and Saturday at the Robert L. Betzler Athletic Complex on the campus of King's (Pa.) College.

Manhattanville (14-16, 8-6 Freedom) enters the tournament as the fourth seed, as the Valiants finished the regular season in a three-way tie for third place with King's (Pa.) College (15-11, 8-6 Freedom) and Misericordia University (22-15, 8-6 Freedom) but earned the tiebreaker over the Cougars to get in. DeSales University (21-11, 9-5 Freedom) and FDU-Florham (14-17, 9-5 Freedom) tied for first place at the end of the regular season, with the Bulldogs earning the tiebreaker for the top spot and the Devils settling for the second seed.

Day one of the tournament will feature three games, beginning with the Valiants and Bulldogs at 11 a.m. and followed by the Devils and Lady Monarchs at approximately 1 p.m. A complete tournament schedule is listed at the bottom of the page.

Manhattanville will likely go as far as the right arm of senior Samantha Howe (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./John Jay) can take it during the tournament, as the senior will carry most (if not all) of the pitching load for the Valiants. Howe was named to the All-Conference second team on Monday after another excellent season, as she brings a 12-11 record and a 1.68 ERA with 128 strikeouts into the postseason. The senior leads the conference and ranks second on the school's single-season list in strikeouts, while also leading all Freedom hurlers with 158.1 innings pitched so far this year.

Howe has also turned herself into a threat at the plate this season, tying for the team lead with four home runs and batting .282 with 13 runs batted in and 10 runs scored.

At the plate, senior outfielder Lindsay Zekus (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y./Sleepy Hollow) was named to the All-Conference first team and leads the team at the top of the order. She paces the team in most offensive categories, including a .390 batting average, 22 runs scored, eight stolen bases and 14 walks. The left fielder also boasts a team-best .600 slugging percentage and a .470 on-base percentage, providing a necessary spark from the leadoff spot.

Sophomore first baseman Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) has also come on strong in recent weeks and will be a key piece in the middle of the Valiant order. She now ranks second on the team with her .343 batting average, while also cranking four home runs on the season to tie Howe for the team lead. Van Galen has also knocked in a team-leading 20 runs, scored 15 times and recorded 11 extra-base hits in total to help account for a .535 slugging percentage.

Manhattanville is making its second straight appearance in the Freedom Conference Tournament and second overall since joining the conference prior to the 2007-08 season. The Valiants will be searching for the program's sixth conference tournament title, having previously take the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference title in 1995 and 1997 as well as the Skyline Conference Tournament crown in 2002, 2005 and 2007.

DeSales and Manhattanville have met on eight previous occasions, with the two teams splitting the eight games evenly. Earlier this season, the Valiants swept the Bulldogs in both teams' conference opener at Manhattanville Field, as Howe allowed just two runs in 14 innings of work while the Valiant offense scored 13 times in 7-0 and 6-2 victories. The Valiants also split with King's (5-2 L, 2-0 W) and lost two to FDU-Florham (4-1 L, 2-0 L) during the regular season as well.

Ticket prices for the tournament are $6 daily/$10 all sessions for adults, $5 daily/$8 all sessions for seniors, and $3 daily/$5 all sessions for students. For more information on this year's Freedom Conference Tournament, including live stats links, a tournament program, directions, and recommended hotels and restaurants in the Wilkes-Barre area, please visit the tournament website by clicking here.

2011 Freedom Conference Tournament Schedule

Friday, May 6, 2011
 Game 1:   #1 DeSales vs. #4 Manhattanville, 11:00 a.m.
Game 2:   #2 FDU-Florham vs. #3 King's, 1:00 p.m.
Game 3:   Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 7, 2011
Game 4:   Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 9:00 a.m. (Loser is eliminated)
Game 5:   Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 11:00 a.m. (Loser is eliminated)
Game 6:   Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, 1:00 p.m.
Game 7:   Same Teams as Game 6 if necessary, 3:00 p.m.
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