Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PURCHASE, N.Y. – Senior Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) started the day by hitting her program-record 32nd career home run and the day got better from there as the Manhattanville softball team celebrated its four seniors by concluding the regular season with a sweep of Baruch, 8-5 and 9-1 (5 inn.), on Senior Day on Sunday afternoon at Manhattanville Field.
 
The Manhattanville offense is headed to the postseason after another good day at the plate, as the Valiants banged out 22 hits in 12 innings to secure the sweep. Five players had three hits for the Valiants on the day, including a pair of seniors in Van Galen and Brianna Scapperotti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison). Fellow seniors Kim Angiolillo (White Plains, N.Y./Good Counsel Academy) and Katie Pitcher (Cold Spring, N.Y./Valley Central) both had two hits as well in their final games on the home field.
 
Manhattanville jumped out to a five-run lead in the first game, yet still needed a three-run homer by sophomore Laura Montalto (Bronx, N.Y./Preston) in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull out an 8-5 win to start the day.
 
The Valiants got on the board first in game one and it was a record-setting strike off the perpetually hot bat of Van Galen, who broke a tie with Michele Ribeiro '07 and became the school's all-time leader in home runs. Her two-run shot over the left-field fence scored Scapperotti and gave the home team a 2-0 lead after one inning.
 
The Valiants got three more over the three innings thanks to three Baruch errors. In the second frame, a booted grounder by sophomore Alyssa Casino (Rye Brook, N.Y./Maria Regina) allowed one unearned run to score and another came home on an infield groundout by Scapperotti. Another Bearcat miscue gave the Valiants a run in the fourth, as a grounder was thrown away allowing sophomore Rosaria Callara (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) to score.
 
After mustering only three hits over the first five innings against Pitcher, the Bearcats broke through for the first time in the sixth, scoring five times to tie the game. Nicole Flint broke the ice with an RBI double down the right-field line and Courtney White followed by painting the left-field line to drive home two more runs and chase Pitcher from the game. Olivia Auman then took the third pitch she saw from junior Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Sask./Craik) over the fence in left to knot the score.
 
But Manhattanville came right back in the bottom half, using a long ball of its own to get back on top. This time it was Montalto to provide the big blast, scoring Callara and Scapperotti with a three-run opposite-field homer that made it 8-5 Valiants headed to the seventh.
 
Baruch got the tying run on base in the seventh, but Taylor (10-3) ended up striking out the side to close out the contest. The junior was credited with the win in relief, striking out three and allowing a run on two hits in 1.2 innings. Pitcher was great for five innings before finding trouble in the sixth, ending the game with four runs allowed on seven hits and four strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
 
There was no such late-game drama in game two, as Manhattanville scored six times in the first inning and never looked back in a 9-1 (5 inn.) victory.
 
The Valiants got all the offense they needed in the opening frame, sending 10 players to the plate and scoring six times. After two Baruch errors allowed the first two runs to score, Angiolillo made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly, junior Kirsten Savage (Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) drove home a pair with a double to the fence in right center and Casino followed with an RBI bloop to left field that made it 6-0.
 
The home team tacked on one more in the second on back-to-back two-baggers by Scapperotti and Montalto before Baruch got their first run of the day in the third thanks to a run-scoring double from Auman.
 
Manhattanville put the game away in the fourth, scoring two more times. Van Galen and Taylor started the rally with back-to-back doubles that made it 8-1, and a Savage RBI groundout gave the Valiants an eight-run edge after four.
 
Taylor (11-3) closed things out in the fifth for her second win of the day, striking out eight and allowing just the one run on five hits to win her third straight decision.
 
Manhattanville will spend the next few days preparing for the Freedom Conference Tournament, which will be hosted by Wilkes on Friday and Saturday in Edwardsville, Pa. The third-seeded Valiants will take on second-seeded King's (Pa.) in the second game of the day beginning at 1 p.m.