CLERMONT, Fla. – The Manhattanville College softball team split two games on its second day at the NTC Spring Games, posting an 11-7 win over The Sage Colleges before suffering a 3-1 setback to Stockton University at the National Training Center on Sunday.
 
Freshman Alexis Ventarola (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) had another good day at the plate for Manhattanville (1-3), going 3 for 6 with two runs batted in and two runs scored. Seniors Alyssa Casino (Rye Brook, N.Y./Maria Regina) and Rosaria Callara (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) both had three hits apiece as well, with both also scoring twice and driving in one.
 
The Manhattanville bats came alive in the first game of the day, pounding out 13 hits and taking advantage of four Sage errors to reach double figures on the scoreboard in an 11-7 victory.
 
Callara led the Valiant offense from the leadoff spot, going 3 for 5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Ventarola went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two runs driven in, while Casino also had a good game at the plate with two hits, two runs and an RBI.
 
The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Valiants and freshman righthander Alicia Marino (Mahopac, N.Y./Pleasantville), as Sage took a 3-0 lead just three batters into the game thanks to a single, error and three-run homer from Morgan Dunn.
 
But Manhattanville picked its pitcher up in the bottom half, taking advantage of three Sage errors to score five times and quickly take the lead back. Sophomore Shelbee Damianos (Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff) reached on an error to drive in Callara with the team's first run, and junior Alyx Scapperotti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) made it a 3-2 game when she came home on a wild pitch. Marino then helped her own cause with a two-run single to plate Ventarola and Damianos, giving the Valiants a 4-3 lead.
 
After Sage got one back in the third, Manhattanville came back with three of its own in the bottom half to take an 8-4 lead. Damianos picked up her second RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to score graduate student Shauna Mulkerin (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata), followed by the hot-hitting Ventarola with a two-run single.
 
Run-scoring singles from Casino and Callara in the fourth inning, as well as an RBI double off the bat of freshman Jennifer Vasquez (Norwalk, Calif./Norwalk) in the fifth, further built up the Valiant lead and allowed the team to pick up the win.
 
Marino (1-1) calmed down after the shaky start to the day, earning her first collegiate victory by working around 12 hits and allowing seven runs (six earned) in seven innings. Lindsay Brace (0-1) suffered the loss for Sage, ceding eight runs (four earned) on seven hits in three innings of work.
 
The second game of the day featured good pitching on both sides, but the Manhattanville offense managed only five hits against Stockton pitcher Samantha Shockey in a tough 3-1 loss.
 
Both Shockey and Callara did their best to limit the opposition, combining to scatter only 10 hits in seven innings. Shockey (1-0) allowed only one run to go with her five hits, while Callara (0-2) suffered the tough-luck loss despite allowing only five hits and three runs (two earned).
 
Both teams scored once in the first inning to even the score after one frame. The Ospreys plated the game's first run thanks to a two-out triple from Dominique Dorris, but the Valiants countered with an RBI double from Damianos that plated sophomore Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster).
 
After both teams went down in the second, Stockton broke through again with two in the third. Shockey helped her own cause with an RBI double to put her team back ahead, and then scored on an infield single for a 3-1 lead.
 
Callara shut down the Osprey offense after that, scattering just two hits over the final four frames. Unfortunately Shockey did likewise, limiting the Valiants to only two hits in their final five turns at bat. Manhattanville's best chance came in the sixth inning after Damianos was hit by a pitch and Ventarola singled, but a pair of ground outs quelled the threat.
 
Manhattanville will be back for its third day of action at the NTC Spring Games tomorrow, when the squad gets up early to take on Haverford at 9 a.m. and Penn State-Behrend at 11 a.m.