Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PURCHASE, N.Y. – Senior Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Sask./Craik) remained red-hot in the circle headed into the postseason, but the Manhattanville softball team had to settle for a non-conference split with Western Connecticut State in its regular-season finale on Sunday afternoon at Manhattanville Field. The Valiants took game one, 2-0, before dropping a 6-2 contest in game two.
 
Manhattanville (24-8) had its 13-game winning streak snapped with the game-two loss to Western Connecticut (29-9-1), putting an end to the second-longest winning streak in program history, behind only a 15-game unbeaten stretch in 2007.
 
Freshman Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) continued her good weekend by going 3 for 6 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while senior Kirsten Savage (Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) had a team-best three hits on the day as well.
 
One winning streak that remained intact was that of Taylor, who won her 12th consecutive decision with a 2-0 shutout of Western Connecticut in game one.
 
Manhattanville played a very different game than what the team has been accustomed to at home in game one, but the result was the same thanks to another masterful outing from Taylor (22-6). The senior scattered three hits and struck out eight against a potent Colonial lineup that hadn't been shut out all year and came in averaging over five runs per game.
 
The Valiants got on the board quickly in the first, manufacturing a run to take a 1-0 lead. Senior Emily Frawley (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) was moved up to the two-hole for the game and beat out a bunt single with one down. After freshman Shelbee Damianos (Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff) moved her into scoring position with a ground out, Diemicke came through with a timely single to left to drive home Frawley, who just got in before the tag at the plate.
 
Manhattanville used some more small ball to pick up an insurance run in the fourth. Diemicke led off by reaching on an error, and a ground out and an infield single by Savage moved her to third base with one out. After a strikeout, Savage and Diemicke executed a double steal that doubled the Valiant lead.
 
Meanwhile, Taylor was cruising along, keeping the Colonials hitless through the first four frames. WestConn finally broke through with a pair of two-out singles in the fifth, but Taylor induced a ground out from Kristen Sliman to escape the jam.
 
The Colonials put the leadoff batter on base in the sixth and seventh innings as well, but Taylor slammed the door to complete her third straight shutout. The senior now has nine shutouts this season and has allowed a run in only three of the last 49 innings she's pitched. The three straight clean sheets are the first by a Valiant pitcher since Maggie Thomas '07 as a freshman in 2004.
 
Taylor got the game off in the second game of the day, and Manhattanville fell by a 6-2 score despite a solid effort in the circle from Frawley.
 
Making her first start since way back on March 12, Frawley (2-2) hung tough against the Colonials, allowing six runs on 15 hits in seven innings of work. The Valiants, however, couldn't do much against WestConn starter Alle Sabith (15-6), who ceded two runs on nine hits.
 
Western Connecticut got on the board just two batters into the game, when Jessica Caturano sent a Frawley offering over the fence. The Valiants got the run back in the second, when Diemicke led off with a single and came home on an infield base hit from freshman Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster).
 
The teams also traded runs in the third inning, thanks to clutch two-out base hits by WestConn's Kylie Boyle and Manhattanville's Damianos.
 
The Colonials took their third lead of the game in the fifth inning on an RBI fielder's choice by Julia Bocek, but Frawley escaped further damage by getting a groundout from Sabith with the bases loaded. However, Western Connecticut added to its lead in the sixth and seventh innings thanks to Michaela Rocha, who led off the sixth with a homer and also added a two-out RBI single in the seventh.
 
Manhattanville will spend this week preparing for next weekend's Freedom Conference Tournament, which will be held at Delaware Valley College on Friday and Saturday. The top-seeded Valiants will kick off the weekend on Friday at 11 a.m. against fourth-seeded Misericordia. Check out GoValiants.com this week for a full preview of the conference tournament.