Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Manhattanville softball team battled back from a game-one loss to post a 9-5 victory in game two and earn a hard-fought split with Coast Guard, ranked 17th nationally in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 poll, in a non-conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon.
 
Freshman Laura Montalto (Bronx, N.Y./Preston) was a hitting star for Manhattanville in the two games, going 5 for 8 with a homer, double, three runs batted in and two runs scored. Junior Lynsey Schill (Waterloo, Ont./St. David Catholic) also played well in her first two games of the season, getting five hits in nine at-bats and scoring three times.
 
After starting the day with a loss, Manhattanville battled back in the second game of the day, as junior Katie Pitcher (Cold Spring, N.Y./Valley Central) pitched in both at the plate and in the circle to lead the Valiants to a 9-5 win.
 
The junior went 2 for 3 with a homer and three RBIs at the plate, while also picking up her second win of the year with a complete-game victory. Junior Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) also went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs scored for the Valiants, while Schill had three hits and scored twice as well.
 
The Valiants struck first in the second game, as Schill led off with a single and came home on an RBI double from Van Galen. The visitors then tacked on three more in the top of the third, with senior Ashley Dell (Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington) singling home freshman Danielle DeAndrea (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) and junior Kim Angiolillo (White Plains, N.Y./Good Counsel Academy) knocking home both Dell and Van Galen with two outs.
 
After Coast Guard scored twice in the bottom of the third to get back into the game, Manhattanville closed the door with five more in the top of the fourth. Freshman Jess Magnotta (West Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) started the inning by reaching on an error, and Schill laced a base hit of her own before Van Galen knocked both runners home with a single. Montalto doubled with two outs to keep the inning alive for Pitcher, who helped her own cause by launching a three-run homer off her counterpart, Catherine Walker (2-1), to complete the rally.
 
Pitching with a seven-run lead, Pitcher kept the nationally ranked Bears away from any huge rallies, ceding just single runs in each of the final three frames to earn the win. Pitcher (2-0) struck out one and walked one while allowing all five CGA runs in the victory.
 
The Valiant offense was largely silent in the first game of the day, as Coast Guard scored the first five runs of the day and earned a 5-3 victory.
 
Manhattanville actually posted a 7-5 edge in hits against the Bears, as Montalto nearly singlehandedly matched Coast Guard's effort with a 4-for-4 day. Schill also had two hits in a losing effort, but the rest of the Valiant lineup managed just one hit against Walker.
 
After holding the home team scoreless for three innings, Coast Guard struck for three in the bottom of the fourth off of freshman Kristen Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y./The Ursuline School), and then added two more in the sixth off of junior Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Sask./Craik).
 
Those last two runs were very much needed for the Bears, as Montalto homered with two on and two out in the top of the seventh, which made it a 5-3 game.
 
Rodopoulos (1-3) suffered the loss for Manhattanville, allowing three runs (two earned) on just three hits in four innings. Taylor pitched the final two frames for the Valiants, allowing a pair of unearned runs on two hits.
 
Manhattanville (3-6) will begin Freedom Conference play on Wednesday afternoon, as the Valiants host defending conference champion King's (Pa.) for two big games beginning at 3 p.m. at Manhattanville Field. Coast Guard (9-5) will host Roger Williams for two games on Tuesday beginning at 3:30 p.m.