Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville softball team wrapped up the 2012 regular season on Tuesday afternoon, splitting a non-conference doubleheader with Baruch at Manhattanville Field. The Valiants took the first game, 2-1, but dropped the second, 4-0.
 
The first game of the day belonged to freshman Marissa DeGaetano (Yorktown, N.Y./Lakeland), as the righthander earned her first career start and allowed just one unearned run in a complete-game 2-1 victory.
 
DeGaetano (1-0) was in control all game long against the Bearcats, just one run on only three hits in seven frames. The freshman allowed two hits over the first three innings, then went the next three without allowing a base hit to keep Baruch at bay. She also struck out three and allowed only seven balls to reach the outfield.
 
Manhattanville started the scoring with an unearned run in the bottom of the second. Junior Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) led off with a four-pitch walk and reached third when Baruch pitcher Deena Farrell (1-12) threw a routine grounder past the first baseman. Junior Brianna Scapperotti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) then drove her home with a first-pitch sacrifice fly to right field.
 
The Valiants added a second run in the bottom of the fifth, as freshman Laura Montalto (Bronx, N.Y./Preston) singled, stole second and came home on an RBI single off the bat of freshman Arianna Martignetti (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle).
 
Baruch mounted its only real threat of the game in the seventh inning, scoring once and coming a second away from tying the game. With one out and a runner on first, Chrystal Sanchez doubled down the right field line and the throw back into the infield was knocked off a runner out of play to score a run and put the tying run on third base. But freshman Kristen Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y./The Ursuline School) was in the right place at the right time for the next batter, as she chased down a pop fly in foul ground and then fired a strike to home plate, nailing Sanchez for the game-ending double play.
 
The Valiants were not so lucky in game two, however, as Baruch's Olivia Auman shut down the Manhattanville bats and the home team committed three errors that led to four unearned runs in a 4-0 loss.
 
Baruch struck first with three unearned runs off of Rodopoulos in the top of the second inning. Manhattanville nearly got two runs back in the bottom of the third, but Sanchez made a great play to rob junior Lynsey Schill (Waterloo, Ont./St. David Catholic) of a two-run homer by reaching over the center-field fence to bring the ball back.
 
The Valiants had another great chance to finally get on the scoreboard in the fourth, as Dell, Van Galen and Montalto led off the frame with three straight singles to load the bases with no outs. But Auman battled back from a 3-0 count to get a strikeout and then induced a pair of fly outs to quell the threat without ceding a run.
 
The Bearcats added a fourth unearned run in the sixth inning to make a four-run lead, accounting for the final score.
 
The Valiants had trouble getting to Auman (2-2) throughout the afternoon, as she scattered seven hits over seven innings to pick up the win. Rodopoulos (5-7) suffered the loss, allowing three unearned runs on four hits in four innings. Pitcher tossed the final three innings, allowing one unearned run on five hits.
 
With the regular season now complete, Manhattanville (18-15) will turn its attention to the Freedom Conference Championships, which will be held on Friday and Saturday at Manhattanville Field. The top-seeded Valiants will open the tournament on Friday at 11 a.m. against fourth-seeded Eastern. Baruch (13-25) will open up CUNYAC Tournament play tomorrow against John Jay starting at 4 p.m.