Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CLERMONT, Fla. – The Manhattanville softball team finally had a good day down south at the NTC Spring Games, as the Valiants held off Scranton in extra innings, 3-2 (8 inn.), and then shut out Fitchburg State by a 3-0 score to pick up a pair of victories at the National Training Center.
Senior Ashley Dell (Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington) had a team-high four hits for Manhattanville on the afternoon while junior Katie Pitcher (Cold Spring, N.Y./Valley Central) and freshman Kristen Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y./The Ursuline School) picked up wins in the circle as well for the Valiants, who snapped a three-game losing streak with the two wins.
The first game of the day was a thriller, as the two teams engaged in a pitcher's duel for seven innings before Manhattanville scored twice in the top of the eighth and then held off the Royals in the bottom half to earn the 3-2 win.
Both teams got one run in the first three frames, with the Valiants tying the score in the top of the third after junior Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Sask./Craik) reached on an error to score sophomore Shauna Mulkerin (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata). Pitcher replaced Taylor in the circle after the half-inning and she and Scranton's Samantha Boccolini put up zeroes after that, eventually sending the game into the eighth inning and into international tiebreaker territory.
Freshman Laura Montalto (Bronx, N.Y./Preston) was placed on second to start the frame for the Valiants and reached third on a sacrifice bunt, but the chance looked lost when she was thrown out at the plate on an infield ground out. But after junior Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) singled to continue the inning, Dell delivered a big blow with a two-run triple that scored both Van Galen and Rodopoulos.
In the bottom of the eighth, Kaitlyn Frazza was placed on second for the Royals and tried to score on a single to center, but freshman Danielle DeAndrea (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) gunned her down at the plate for a huge first out. After an RBI single and a walk made it a one-run game, Pitcher settled down and induced a pair of fly outs to end the rally and give the Valiants their first win of the year.
Pitcher (1-0) allowed one run on three hits in six innings of work, striking out three to pick up her first collegiate victory in the circle. Taylor received a no-decision, allowing one unearned run on three hits and striking out four in two frames. Boccolini (1-1) suffered the loss for Scranton, allowing three runs (two earned) on nine hits in eight innings.
Dell has a huge game at the plate for Manhattanville, posting the first four-hit game of her career by going 4 for 4 with two RBIs and delivering the huge hit in extra innings.
The second game was a little easier on the nerves for Manhattanville, as Rodopoulos tossed a complete-game shutout for her first collegiate win and led her team to a 3-0 victory over Fitchburg State.
Rodopoulos was superb in her first college start, as she scattered seven singles and more impressively tied the program's single-game record with 12 punchouts. The 12 strikeouts are the most in a single game since former ace Maggie Thomas '07 had 12 as a freshman against Old Westbury on April 10, 2004.
Manhattanville scored first in the fifth inning, as DeAndrea led off with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Arianna Martignetti (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle), and came home on a Rodopoulos sacrifice fly.
After producing the first run at the plate, Rodopoulos then set about shutting down the Falcon lineup, keeping them off the scoreboard all game long. The Valiants got a pair of insurance runs on the bottom of the sixth frame, as Pitcher singled and came home on a homer by Van Galen.
Manhattanville (2-3) will have one more day in Florida, as the Valiants take on Wisconsin-Stout at 9 a.m. and NFCA #18 Ithaca at 11 a.m. before heading back to Purchase.
