FLEMINGTON, N.J.- The Manhattanville baseball team scored seven unanswered runs late against Eastern University on Friday night, beating the Eagles by a final score of 9-5 on the opening day of Freedom Conference play.   
 
Senior Zack Zareva (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional) earned his first win of the season for Manhattanville (4-4, 1-0 Freedom), tossing 2 2/3 innings of shutout baseball in relief, helping lead the Valiants past Eastern (0-7, 0-1 Freedom). Classmate Joe Palmeri (Mastic, N.Y./Eastport/South Manor) finished off the Eagles in the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits before securing the Valiants a win in their conference opener.
 
For the Valiants, Sophomore Dillon Healy (Hastings, N.Y./Hastings) made the start on the mound, pitching 4 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on four hits, picking up the no decision. The Valiant bats remained hot at the plate, scoring nine runs on nine hits, including a two-RBI performance from both senior Bobby Guerra (Bronx, N.Y./Arlington) and sophomore Chris Conklin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland).
 
Manhattanville took an early lead over the Eagles in the second inning as sophomore Robbie Lynch (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) made it home on a throwing error from the Eastern catcher attempting to pick off senior Nick Euvino (Bronx, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) stealing second base. The Eagles eventually tied it up in the bottom half of the second as Cal Sanelli doubled down the right field line to bring home the tying run. The Valiants took back the lead in the third inning before the Eagles secured a 4-2 lead after the fifth.
 
The sixth inning is when the Valiant bats started to come to life, scoring seven runs over a span of three innings. Manhattanville made due off Eastern errors, starting with junior Jordanis Nunez (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond) scoring on an error from Eastern's pitcher Ryan Kehr. Guerra then notched up the game at four before the Valiants took the lead on another Eastern error in the sixth. Manhattanville added two more runs in the seventh to go with an additional two more runs in the eighth, allowing Palmeri to work with a five-run lead headed into the final at-bat for Eastern. The Eagles were able to get one run back in the ninth before Palmeri closed the door, helping the Valiants beat Eastern by a final score of 9-5.
 
Manhattanville and Eastern were supposed to play a doubleheader tomorrow at Manhattanville Field, but with snow still on the ground, the games have been postponed. Be sure to keep up with GoValiants.com on any additional details for updates.