Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PURCHASE, N.Y. – Senior Kirsten Savage (Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) had five extra-base hits and seven runs batted in while freshman Shelbee Damianos (Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff) went 7 for 9 at the plate as the Manhattanville softball team hammered its way past Wilkes, 13-2 and 13-6, in a Freedom Conference softball doubleheader on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon at Manhattanville Field.
 
Manhattanville (15-7, 9-1 Freedom) maintains its first-place standing in the conference with the two wins, remaining one game ahead of second-place FDU-Florham (8-2), who swept two from DeSales today. Wilkes (4-20, 1-9 Freedom) remains in last place in the conference with the two losses.
 
The Valiants had no trouble on the day against the Wilkes pitching staff, hitting .492 as a team and racking up 31 hits to go with their 26 runs. Damianos had seven hits in nine at-bats, raising her season average to .571, while Savage had a monster day at the plate, going 5 for 8 with her first career homer, a triple, three doubles and seven RBIs.
 
The Valiant offense quickly took the drama out of the first game of the day, scoring eight times in the first inning and never looking back in a 13-2 win.
 
Junior Rosaria Callara (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) led the attack from the leadoff spot, going 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Damianos, senior Shauna Mulkerin (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata) and sophomore Alyx Scapperotti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) all scored twice as well. Savage led all players with three runs batted in for the home team.
 
The Valiants wasted no time in pouring on the runs, scoring eight times in the first frame. The first four batters of the game all singled, with Damianos and classmate Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) poking RBI singles to make it 2-0. A Savage double doubled the lead to 4-0, followed by a bases-loaded walk from Mulkerin. Callara came up for the second time and drove home a sixth run, followed by two more coming in on a Wilkes error.
 
Manhattanville added one more in the second on an RBI groundout from senior Emily Frawley (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains). After Wilkes got on the scoreboard with two in the fourth, the Valiants came back with four in the fourth to take an 11-run edge and complete the victory.
 
Taylor was the beneficiary of all the run support, tossing five innings and allowing one earned run on five hits in five innings of work. The senior only needed 64 pitches in the victory, striking out one and walking one. Alysha Bixler (2-9) took the loss, allowing all 13 runs (11 earned) in three-plus innings.
 
Manhattanville upped the level of difficulty in game two, spotting the Lady Colonels a five-run lead before storming back with 13 of the final 14 runs to complete the sweep with a 13-6 victory.
 
Damianos was unstoppable at the plate in game two, tying the program single-game record of five hits first recorded by Nicole Bifulco '11 and matched earlier this year by Diemicke against TCNJ. Savage also had a big game, going 3 for 4 with a career-high four RBIs, giving her 12 runs batted in over the last five games. All nine Valiants had at least one run scored in the win.
 
The game had a very different start from game one, however, as Wilkes scored three in the first and two in the second to take an early 5-0 lead. The visitors sent eight batters to the plate in the first, getting a two-run single from Ally Paskas and an unearned run to take a three-run lead before the Valiants got to the plate. The Lady Colonels got two more in the second on a two-run double by Alex Hoops to take a surprising 5-0 lead.
 
The Valiant comeback began in the bottom of the second, when freshman Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) doubled home Savage before coming to the plate on a Callara RBI single. Savage got the home team within two in the third inning with an RBI triple that landed on the right-field line.
 
After Wilkes got one back in the fourth, Manhattanville came back with six in the bottom half to finally gain control of the game. The first six batters reached for the Valiants one base at a time, with run-scoring singles from Damianos and Taylor worked around a Diemicke bases-loaded walk to even the score. Frawley gave the Valiants their first lead with an RBI pop fly, followed by run-scoring singles from Deieso and Mulkerin that completed the rally.
 
The Valiants sealed the game with three more in the fifth, when Savage connected on the first home run of her career over the center-field fence to put an exclamation point on her career day.
 
Taylor (13-6) earned her second win despite not having her best stuff, allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits in seven innings. Hayley Phillips (1-5) suffered the loss for Wilkes, ceding eight runs on eight hits and five walks in three-plus innings.
 
Manhattanville is off until Thursday, when the Valiants travel to Delaware Valley to take on the Aggies for two games starting at 3 p.m.