Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PURCHASE, N.Y. – Junior Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Sask./Craik) delivered the game-winning base hit with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Manhattanville softball team walked off with a 3-2 game-two win and a split of a key Freedom Conference doubleheader with DeSales on Saturday afternoon at a sunny Manhattanville Field. DeSales took the first game in a pitchers' duel, 1-0.
 
Manhattanville (17-17, 8-6 Freedom) concludes its conference schedule in a tie for third place with FDU-Florham, and will be the third seed in the Freedom Conference Tournament thanks to its win over the Bulldogs today. First-place DeSales (22-7-1, 11-1 Freedom) has its 13-game winning streak and its 11-game conference winning streak snapped with the game-two loss.
 
Both games were filled with excitement on Saturday, but the second game of the day was the one that ended well for the home team. Manhattanville entered the bottom of the seventh down by a run, but the Valiants plated a pair of tallies to walk off with the 3-2 victory.
 
After going scoreless in the first game of the day, Manhattanville took a 1-0 lead after one inning in game two. Sophomore Rosaria Callara (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) led off with a walk and was sacrificed over by senior Brianna Scapperotti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) before sophomore Laura Montalto (Bronx, N.Y./Preston) singled her home to put the Valiants up early.
 
DeSales got that run back in the top of the third on an RBI double by Julie Brugger, and neither team managed to get a runner to third base after that until the final inning of play. The Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh thanks to a two-out rally, as Taylor Kelly reached on an error, stole second base, and scored on a single by Kayla Adanalian.
 
But Manhattanville did not go away. Callara again started the rally with a one-out single and advanced to second on an error, and Scapperotti followed up with a clutch single to left field that plated Callara and tied the score. A groundout moved Scapperotti to third and allowed DeSales to intentionally walk senior Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane), but Taylor made the Bulldogs pay with a single through the left side that won the game for the home team.
 
Senior Katie Pitcher (Cold Spring, N.Y./Valley Central) continued her good throwing as of late by picking up her second win of the year (2-4), allowing only two runs (one earned) on six hits in a complete-game effort. DeSales' Rachel Vogel (5-2) allowed all three runs on nine hits to suffer the loss.
 
The first game of the day was a brilliant pitchers' duel between Taylor and DeSales' DJ McCauley, with DeSales scraping across the only run of the game in the fourth inning to eke out a 1-0 win.
 
McCauley (11-3) held Manhattanville in check all game long, allowing only two hits and striking out eight in a complete-game shutout. Taylor (8-3) almost matched her zero for zero, suffering the loss after allowing one run on six hits in seven frames.
 
The only run of the game came in the fourth, when Emily Hockman and McCauley started the inning with back-to-back singles and Sam Gibson drove Hockman home with an RBI infield single.
 
Manhattanville will close the regular season with a pair of non-conference doubleheaders at Manhattanville Field, beginning on Wednesday when the team hosts John Jay for two beginning at 3:30 p.m.