PURCHASE, N.Y. – Riding one of the hottest streaks of success in program history, the Manhattanville softball team will take another crack at earning the program's first Freedom Conference title this weekend as the Valiants make their fifth straight appearance at the Freedom Conference Championships, hosted by Delaware Valley College on Friday and Saturday.
 
Manhattanville (24-8, 13-1 Freedom) is the top seed in the tournament for the second time in the last three years, and as a result will face off with fourth-seeded Misericordia (23-13, 8-6 Freedom) in the opening game of the weekend on Friday at 11 a.m. Second-seeded King's (Pa.) (26-8, 10-4 Freedom) and third-seeded FDU-Florham (17-14, 9-5 Freedom) will battle in the second opening-round game at 1 p.m. on Friday.
 
Manhattanville is making its fifth straight appearance in the postseason, but the Valiants are just 5-8 all-time in the Freedom Tournament, including a 1-3 mark in opening-round games. The Valiants are still looking for their first Freedom Conference title and seventh conference tournament title overall, having previously take the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference title in 1991, 1995 and 1997 as well as the Skyline Conference Tournament crown in 2002, 2005 and 2007 under current head coach Dale Martin.
 
The Valiants come into the Freedom Conference Tournament as the best hitting and pitching team in the conference this season. The squad ranks eighth in Division III by hitting .375 as a team this year, with seven regular starters hitting over .333 individually during the regular season, while also posting a Freedom-best 2.36 earned run average as a staff in 198.1 innings. As a team, Manhattanville hit .414 in 14 conference games this season, outscoring its opponents by a 119-31 margin and averaging over one homer and three extra-base hits per game.
 
Manhattanville's top threat both in the circle and at the plate this season is senior Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Sask./Craik). The righthander leads the conference in most categories this season with a 22-6 record and 2.06 ERA with 138 strikeouts, ranking fifth in Division III in wins this year. She has also posted a school single-season record nine shutouts to rank seventh in Div. III and held opponents to a .220 batting average this year, and with one more win this season, she would set a new Freedom Conference record for wins in a season, as she is currently tied with Kat Lucenti (Misericordia, 2010). She has also been a force at the plate this year, tying for first in the conference with a school single-season record 12 home runs (seventh in D-III) in addition to a .400 batting average and a conference-best .832 slugging percentage.
 
But while Taylor has been the team's top performer in the circle, she is just one cog in the Valiants' offensive machine, which begins with Freedom Rookie of the Year candidate Shelbee Damianos (Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff). The freshman enters the week fourth in Division III with a .555 batting average this year, leading the conference as well with a .564 on-base percentage and a program-record 61 hits so far this year. She also is second among Freedom players with a team-best 38 RBIs and 85 total bases this year.
 
The squad also has multiple other options for offensive production, going up and down the lineup. Senior Kirsten Savage (Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) ranks second on the team with a .414 batting average and .458 on-base percentage to go with a team-best 31 runs scored that ranks third in the conference. Junior Rosaria Callara (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) has 42 hits to rank second on the team from the leadoff spot, while freshman Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) has heated up recently and hits .343 with 24 RBIs from the cleanup position. The team is also dangerous at the bottom of the lineup as well, as senior Shauna Mulkerin (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata) has five home runs and 19 walks from the nine-hole.
 
Manhattanville's first opponent this weekend is fourth-seeded Misericordia, which is making its fourth Freedom Conference Tournament appearance and won the title at Manhattanville Field in 2012. The Cougars are the only team to take a game off the Valiants in conference play this year when the squads split two games, 7-3 and 3-4, in Dallas, Pa., on April 6. They are led offensively by Megan Hardy, who is hitting .404 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs and a conference-best 93 total bases and 21 extra-base hits this season. Kristi Seiler ranks second on the team with a .381 batting average, while Sam Hare hits .348 and is tied with Hardy with a team-best 22 runs scored in 2014. Bailee Schies is the team's top pitcher with a 12-5 record and a 2.48 ERA in 18 starts, while Jess Armillay also has 18 starts this season and is 8-7 with a 3.89 ERA.
 
King's is the second seed this year and making its 15th straight postseason appearance as the Lady Monarchs look for their 11th tournament championship since 2000. The Lady Monarchs are paced by Jenn Harnischfeger with a conference-leading 51 runs scored and 26 walks (5th in D-III), to go with a .423 batting average and a .536 on-base percentage. Perennial All-Conference candidate Amanda Cardone is hitting .407 with 34 RBIs and 30 runs scored this year as well, while Maggie Gola is the squad's top power hitter with seven homers and a conference-best 40 runs batted in. Brittany Haight is the team's top pitcher with a perfect 8-0 record and a 2.31 ERA, while Karissa Kross has a team-best 10 starts this year and is 8-5 with a 3.46 ERA. Manhattanville posted two shutouts over King's this season, winning 3-0 and 5-0 at Manhattanville Field on April 1.
 
FDU-Florham enters the weekend as the third seed as the Devils also look for their first Freedom Conference title in their ninth postseason appearance. Brittni Wurst is the squad's top hitter this year, hitting .448 with a .535 on-base percentage and a team-leading 33 runs scored that ranks second in the conference. Wynne McCann is one of the top power hitters in the conference with seven homers to go with a .418 batting average a .736 slugging percentage. In the circle, Sydney Worek is 9-8 with a team-best 3.58 ERA and 57 strikeouts, and she is complemented by Amanda Finn (8-5, 3.76 ERA). Manhattanville took two from FDU-Florham earlier this year, taking a 10-2 win on March 29 and a 5-4 victory on April 3.

The winner of the Freedom Conference Tournament earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III Championships, which begins next week.
 
The complete tournament schedule for the double-elimination weekend is as follows:

Friday, May 2, 2014
Game 1 - 11:00 am: #1 Manhattanville vs. #4 Misericordia
Game 2 - 1:00 pm: #2 King's (Pa.) vs. #3 FDU-Florham
Game 3 - 3:00 pm: Game #1 Winner vs. Game #2 Winner

Saturday, May 3, 2014
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 Doylestown for the weekend, Delaware Valley will be providing live stats for all games while the Manhattanville Sports Information Department will also provide live Twitter updates for all Valiant games.
 
For more information on the 2014 Freedom Conference Softball Championships, including team information and visitor information, visit the tournament web page.