Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CLERMONT, Fla. – Another day brought another split for the Manhattanville softball team at the NTC Spring Games, as the Valiants took down Northwestern (Ill.) by an 8-0 score before succumbing to St. Lawrence, 4-3, at the National Training Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
The first game of the day was the Valiants' second straight mercy-rule victory, as the squad used plenty of timely hitting and hit well with runners in scoring position to pull out the 8-0 shutout victory over the Eagles.
 
Senior Katie Pitcher (Cold Spring, N.Y./Valley Central) led the way for Manhattanville in the circle, tossing her first career shutout by scattering two hits and striking out three in the five-inning effort.
 
At the plate, Manhattanville scored once in the first inning and then tacked on seven more during the fourth inning to help end the game early.
 
The scoring started in the Valiants' first trip to the plate, as sophomore Rosaria Callara (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) led off with a single and came around to score on a RBI base hit from senior Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane). The senior first baseman finished the contest going 3 for 3 with two singles and a double.
 
As Pitcher held the Eagles at bay on one side, the Valiants then opened the floodgates with seven more runs in the fourth to seize control. Juniors Shauna Mulkerin (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata) and Kirsten Savage (Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) both drove in a pair of runs to lead Manhattanville to the big inning.
 
In the second game of the afternoon, Manhattanville scored three runs early but the timely hitting went away after that and St. Lawrence came back with the game's final four runs to squeeze out a 4-3 win.
 
After missing a chance in the first inning, Manhattanville struck first with three runs in the bottom of the second. Savage started the rally with a single and sophomore Kristen Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y./The Ursuline School) followed with a two-bagger to put two runners in scoring position, and Mulkerin followed with a two-run double. Following a strikeout, Callara made it a 3-0 contest with an RBI single of her own.
 
The Valiants continued to get their chances at the plate, getting at least one runner in scoring position in each of the last five innings, but could not get the big hit to extend their lead and thus allowed the Saints to climb all the way back.
 
St. Lawrence got its first run of the day in the fourth inning on a two-out RBI single from Elizabeth McGinley, then scored twice more in the fifth thanks to a two-run single off the bat of Aisha O'Connor. The game was tied entering the seventh inning, when the Saints put across one more run to take their first lead of the game, as Lauren Weisbarth poked a RBI single through the infield with the bases loaded to make it a 4-3 score headed into the Valiants' last at-bat.
 
Van Galen gave the Valiants hope with a one-out double, but a strikeout and a groundout ended the game and handed Manhattanville its second straight split. Van Galen led the team with three doubles in four at-bats, while Rodopoulos had two doubles and scored a run while Callara also had three hits and drove in one at the top of the order.
 
Rodopoulos (0-2) again suffered a hard-luck loss for the Valiants, allowing four runs (three earned) on just five hits in seven innings. The sophomore also struck out six and walked five on the afternoon. McGinley (1-0) worked out of trouble all game long for St. Lawrence, allowing three runs on 11 hits while also striking out 10.
 
Manhattanville (2-2) will return for day three of the NTC Spring Games tomorrow, as the Valiants battle Lesley at 1 p.m. and fellow MAC member Stevenson at 3 p.m.