PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville softball team will make its fourth straight appearance at the Freedom Conference Championships this weekend in Edwardsville, Pa., as the Valiants look to capture their first Freedom Conference title after making the championship round in both of the last two seasons.
 
Manhattanville (21-17, 8-6 Freedom) is the third seed in this year's tournament, and as a result will first face off with second-seeded King's (Pa.) (23-7, 11-3 Freedom) on Friday at 1 p.m. at Wilkes University's Ralston Athletic Complex. Top-seeded DeSales (25-10, 13-1 Freedom) and fourth-seeded FDU-Florham (20-18, 8-6 Freedom) also will be a part of the weekend and will play the first game of the tournament on Friday morning.
 
The Valiants have made the championship round in both of the last two seasons, but in both cases the team lost its first game and needed to advance through the loser's bracket. Last season, Manhattanville eliminated third-seeded King's and fourth-seeded Eastern on Saturday before falling to second-seeded Misericordia in the championship game.
 
Manhattanville is making its fourth straight appearance in the postseason, but the Valiants are 4-6 all-time in the Freedom Tournament, including an 0-3 mark in opening-round games. The Valiants are still looking for their first Freedom Conference title and sixth conference tournament title overall, having previously take the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference title in 1995 and 1997 as well as the Skyline Conference Tournament crown in 2002, 2005 and 2007.
 
The Valiants come into the tournament hitting .304 as a team thanks in large part to the play of Freedom Conference Player of the Year Jessica Van Galen (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane), who enters the weekend fourth in Division III with a .545 batting average. She also ranks in the top-12 of Div. III in on-base percentage (.602, seventh) and slugging percentage (.889, 12th), while also leading the conference in hits (54) and total bases (88) and ranking in the top-five in RBI (35), doubles (13) and home runs (7). The school's all-time leader in home runs with 32, she will be the focal point of the Valiant lineup as she has been all year long.
 
But for the Valiant offense to be successful, they'll need more than Van Galen to hit. All-Conference first-teamer Rosaria Callara (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) heads the attack from the leadoff spot, hitting .373 with a team-leading 34 runs scored and 12 stolen bases, and will continue to use her speed to disrupt the opposition. Laura Montalto (Bronx, N.Y./Preston) has also come on as of late since moving in front of Van Galen in the order and is hitting .311 with 15 extra-base hits and 29 runs batted in on the year, while Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Sask./Craik) has occupied the five-spot in recent weeks and is hitting .375 in 32 at-bats.
 
The Valiants also will need big hits from the bottom of the order, as Katie Pitcher (Cold Spring, N.Y./Valley Central), Kim Angiolillo (White Plains, N.Y./Good Counsel Academy), Kirsten Savage (Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) and Shauna Mulkerin (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata) all will be called upon to produce when the time comes.
 
In the circle, Taylor will play a big role in the team's success after an All-Conference season in which she went 11-3 with a 1.86 earned run average and 79 strikeouts in 82.2 innings of work. She will be helped along by Kristen Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y./The Ursuline School), who is 7-10 with a 2.90 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 18 appearances this year, and Pitcher, who is 3-4 with a 4.63 ERA in 56.0 innings.
 
Top-seeded DeSales is making its eighth appearance in the Freedom Conference Tournament and searching for its second conference championship. The Bulldogs had a conference-best six players named to the All-Conference teams this week, led by Freedom Pitcher and Rookie of the Year DJ McCauley, who is 13-4 with a 1.83 ERA in the circle while also batting a team-best .410 with five homers and 24 RBI. Carly Bartholomew and Julie Brugger also were named to the All-Conference first team after tying for second on the team with 22 RBI, with both players also hitting over .325 on the year. The Valiants split two games with DeSales during the regular season, losing 1-0 and winning 3-2.
 
King's is the second seed this year and making its 14th straight postseason appearance as the Lady Monarchs look for their 11th tournament championship since 2000. The Lady Monarchs had five players named All-Conference this week, led by first-team selections Amanda Cardone and Jenn Harnischfeger. Cardone is one of the top hitters in the Freedom Conference, hitting .494 with 14 doubles, 32 runs scored and 28 RBI, while Harnischfeger leads the conference with 37 runs scored and has 24 stolen bases from the leadoff spot. Maggie Gola is a big offensive threat for King's as well, leading the conference with 13 home runs. The Valiants were swept by King's in the regular season, falling by 4-3 and 13-5 scores.
 
FDU-Florham tied for third place with Manhattanville and will be the fourth seed this weekend as they look for their first Freedom Conference title in their eighth appearance. The Devils also had five All-Conference honorees this season, with Brittni Wurst earning a spot on the first team after hitting .393 with 29 runs scored and a school-record 28 stolen bases. The Valiants split with the Devils during the regular season, winning 10-1 in game two after a 4-3 loss.
 
The complete tournament schedule for the double-elimination is as follows:

Friday, May 3, 2013
Game 1 - 11:00 am: #1 DeSales vs. #4 FDU-Florham
Game 2 - 1:00 pm: #2 King's vs. #3 Manhattanville
Game 3 - 3:00 pm: Game #1 Winner vs. Game #2 Winner

Saturday, May 4, 2013
Game 4 - 9:00 am: Game #1 Loser vs. Game #2 Loser (loser is eliminated)
Game 5 - 11:00 am: Game #3 Loser vs. Game #4 Winner (loser is eliminated)
Game 6 - 1:00 pm: Game #3 Winner vs. Game #5 Winner
Game 7 - 3:00 pm: Game #3 Winner vs. Game #5 Winner (if necessary)
 
One-day admission for the championship is $6.00 for adults, $5.00 for seniors and $3.00 for students, while the two-day pass costs $10.00 for adults, $8.00 for seniors and $5.00 for students. For those that can't make it to Edwardsville for the weekend, Wilkes will be providing live stats for all tournament games while the Manhattanville Sports Information Department will also provide live Twitter updates for all Valiant games throughout the weekend.
 
For more information on the 2013 Freedom Conference Softball Championships, including team information and visitor information, visit the tournament web page.