Box Score DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – Freshman Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning and senior Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Sask./Craik) made the lead stand up as the top-seeded Manhattanville softball team captured its first Freedom Conference championship with a thrilling 7-4 victory over second-seeded King's (Pa.) in the championship game of the 2014 Freedom Conference Softball Championship, hosted by Delaware Valley on Saturday afternoon.
 
In a back-and-forth game that featured two lead changes and two ties, Manhattanville (25-8) again took the lead for good in its last at-bat of the afternoon. After the first two batters were retired, sophomore Alyx Scapperotti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) singled to keep the inning alive, followed by a base hit from freshman Shelbee Damianos (Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff) to put runners on the corners. That brought up Diemicke, who delivered a double to put the Valiants up top. Taylor then added a two-run single through the left side, giving herself some insurance in looking to close out the Lady Monarchs.
 
Playing with Manhattanville's biggest lead of the game, King's got a leadoff single but it was quickly erased on a 1-6-3 double play. The next at-bat saw Damianos corral a grounder by Amanda Cardone and throw to first to set off the championship celebration.
 
Taylor (25-6) was named Most Valuable Player after earning the win in all three Valiant contests, striking out 14 and allowing only 19 hits in 19.0 innings while also hitting a team-best .556 with four RBIs in the three games. The senior's 25 victories this year are now tied for third most in a single season in Middle Atlantic Conference history in addition to a new Freedom record.

The win marks Manhattanville's first conference title since leaving the Skyline Conference in 2008. The Valiants have now won seven conference championships in program history, with the 2014 title joining three each from the Skyline and the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference.
 
The Valiants received contributions from almost everyone on the roster in the victory. Diemicke went 2 for 2 with 2 RBIs and two runs scored, while Taylor had three hits and drove in two. Scapperotti also went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run, while freshman Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) didn't have a hit but drove in a run, scored once and made the defensive play of the year to keep the Valiants in the contest.
 
Fittingly, Diemicke also started the scoring for Manhattanville in the first inning, driving home junior Rosaria Callara (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) with the first of her clutch two-out doubles.
 
King's scored the next three runs to grab a 3-1 lead after three, but the Valiants evened the score in the fourth frame, getting two runs on three hits. A single by senior Shauna Mulkerin (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata) put runners on the corners with one out, and Deieso scampered home on a wild pitch to make it a 3-2 game. Scapperotti followed up with another key two-out hit, a slapper to right that scored Mulkerin to knot the score at three after four.
 
King's should have taken the lead back in the fifth inning, if not for a highlight-reel catch by Deieso in right field that completely changed the momentum of the game. A leadoff walk resulted in a runner in scoring position with two outs for Maggie Gola, and she laced a ball that seemed ticketed for the grass except for a full-extension grab from the freshman on the warning track with her back to home plate.
 
And as seems to happen often in those circumstances, Deieso found herself at the plate in the bottom half with runners at second and third and two out with a chance to put her team ahead. The freshman grounded the ball in the shortstop hole and, when the ball was thrown to third, Taylor was able elude the tag just long enough for Diemicke to touch home plate and give the Valiants a lead.
 
The lead did not last long, as King's came back in the top of the sixth to tie the score again. With a runner on third and two outs, Damianos almost made a stellar snag of a smash by Lisa Alley, but it glanced off her glove and the tying run crossed the plate. However, that just set the stage for the Valiants to come back again in the sixth, as the Valiants move on to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history and the first since the final season of head coach Dale Martin's first tenure in Purchase in 2007.
 
Manhattanville will find out where the squad is headed for the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced on Monday at 10 a.m. on NCAA.com.