Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PURCHASE, N.Y. – It was a tale of two games for the Manhattanville softball team on Friday afternoon, as the Valiant offense exploded for 16 runs in a 16-3 game one victory but was completely stifled in game two, suffering a 6-0 loss to settle for a split with FDU-Florham in a key Freedom Conference doubleheader at Manhattanville Field.
 
Many Valiants had good days offensively thanks to game one, but junior Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) topped them all by reaching base in all seven plate appearances over the course of the day. The first baseman went 4 for 4 with three RBI and two runs scored, while also drawing a pair of walks and reaching on a sacrifice fly as well. She was one of 10 Valiants to score at least one run on the day.
 
Game one was an offensive outburst by the Valiants, as the home team erupted for a season-high 16 runs and cruised to a 16-3 (5 inn.) victory. The 16 runs are the most scored by the team since joining the Freedom Conference and the most in almost exactly five years, since putting 18 on St. Joseph's (L.I.) on April 7, 2007.
 
A bunch of players had huge games in the win, led by junior Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Sask./Craik), who went a perfect 3 for 3 with three runs scored and an RBI at the plate – and also earned the win in the circle. Freshman Laura Montalto (Bronx, N.Y./Preston) drove in a team-high four runs, Van Galen went 2 for 2 with three RBI and two runs scored, while freshman Danielle DeAndrea (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) had a hit, scored once and drove in three.
 
Manhattanville jumped all over FDU starter Brianne Conanan early on, scoring five runs in the first to jump out to an early lead. Senior Ashley Dell (Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington) broke the ice with a one-out triple down the right-field line, scoring junior Katie Pitcher (Cold Spring, N.Y./Valley Central). Van Galen doubled the Valiant lead with a sacrifice fly to left, and reached second base after the ball went off the glove of the left fielder. After a single and a walk loaded up the bases, DeAndrea delivered the big hit with a bases-clearing triple to make it a five-run lead after one frame.
 
The Devils had an answer in the top of the second, scoring three times, but Manhattanville came back with three more in the third to regain its five-run edge. After Van Galen and Taylor reached base to start the frame, Montalto eschewed the sacrifice bunt and instead sent a three-run homer over the left field fence for her team-leading fourth bomb of the year.
 
Playing with a comfortable 8-3 lead, the home team doubled their score in the fourth inning, as 13 players came to the plate and eight runners came all the way around. The Valiants had scored just one run on a sacrifice fly from Montalto before an FDU error extended the inning, and Manhattanville capitalized to the fullest with seven more runs. Junior Lynsey Schill (Waterloo, Ont./St. David Catholic) and Van Galen added two-run singles in the rally, while Taylor struck the final blow with an RBI base hit.
 
Taylor (4-4) allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits in the five-inning complete game, getting a career-high eight of her 15 outs via the strikeout. Conanan (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing all 16 runs (six earned) on 10 hits in four frames.
 
Game two was a completely different story for Manhattanville, however, as FDU starter Megan McInaw limited the Valiants to just two hits in a 6-0 defeat.
 
FDU-Florham struck first in game two, but things could have been much worse if not for a great defensive play by Schill. With the bases loaded and one out, Liz Spiller lofted a ball to short center field that seemed ticketed for the grass, but Schill made a great diving catch for the second out. And in addition, Karla Babb left early from third base trying to score, and so she was doubled up at third on the appeal to end the threat.
 
The Devils added two more runs in the third inning, as Megan Golembiewski laced an RBI double down the left-field line and then came home on a nicely executed double steal with Brianne Faynor.
 
Conversely, Manhattanville had no success solving McInaw, who recorded seven of her first nine outs via strikeout and took a no-hitter into the fourth. Van Galen broke up the no-no with a single with two outs in the fourth, but the home team still had a zero on the scoreboard.
 
The remainder of the game brought no further luck against McInaw (5-4), who struck out 11 and scattered just two hits – both off the bat of Van Galen – in the complete-game win.
 
Taylor (4-5) suffered the loss for Manhattanville, as she started the game and allowed three runs on six hits in three frames. Pitcher tossed three innings of relief, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits, before freshman Kristen Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y./The Ursuline School) came on in the middle of the seventh and ceded one hit to complete the game.
 
Manhattanville (11-12, 6-2), which falls into a first-place tie with Misericordia thanks to the split, will remain home to take on Staten Island in a make-up doubleheader on Wednesday beginning at 2 p.m. at Manhattanville Field. FDU-Florham (11-9, 3-3 Freedom) will travel to non-conference RPI on Wednesday at 3 p.m.