CLERMONT, Fla. – Manhattanville College battled back from a tough first game to earn a second straight split on Monday at the NTC Spring Games. The Valiant softball team defeated Penn State-Behrend by a 14-11 score after dropping a 12-3 decision to Haverford to start the day.
 
Multiple Valiants had great days at the plate on Monday, led by sophomore Shelbee Damianos (Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff) going 5 for 6 with a homer, four RBIs and three runs scored. Newly minted Freedom Conference Player of the Week Alexis Ventarola (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) also had five hits, including a homer and triple, to go with three RBIs and three runs scored, while classmate Jennifer Vasquez (Norwalk, Calif./Norwalk) went a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate and senior Alyssa Casino (Rye Brook, N.Y./Maria Regina) had a team-best five runs batted in despite just one hit on the day.
 
The day's second game was clearly the better one for Manhattanville, as the Valiants banged out 15 hits and scored four times in three separate innings on the way to a 14-11 win over Penn State-Behrend.
 
Ventarola led the way for Manhattanville, going 4 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Damianos was a perfect 3 for 3 with three runs batted in and two runs scored. Graduate student Shauna Mulkerin (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata) also provided a spark from the bottom of the order with two hits (including a homer), two RBIs and two runs scored.
 
The Valiants wasted little time getting the offense going against the Nittany Lions, scoring eight times in the first two innings. Casino unloaded the bases in the first with a three-run double to open the scoring, followed by an RBI single from junior Alyx Scapperotti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) to make it a 4-0 lead.
 
After Behrend got one back in the bottom half, four more Valiant runs made it an 8-1 game. Mulkerin led off the second with a homer, followed soon after by a Damianos run-scoring single. The sophomore then came home on Ventarola's RBI triple, which preceded Casino's fourth RBI of the first two innings with a sacrifice fly.
 
Penn State did not go away quietly, however, scoring seven times in its next three at-bats to tie the score at eight after four innings. But Manhattanville responded with four more in the fifth inning to regain the lead. Mulkerin got her team back the lead with an RBI single to score Scapperotti, and Damianos did more damage in the frame with a two-run double.
 
RBI singles from sophomore Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) and Ventarola in the sixth inning provided the Valiants some more insurance, which came in handy after three Behrend runs made it a three-run game at its conclusion.
 
Sophomore Alicia Marino (Mahopac, N.Y./Pleasantville) earned the win (2-1) for Manhattanville, allowing seven earned runs in seven innings of play. Rachel Miller (0-1) suffered the loss for PSU-Behrend, allowing four runs in three innings of relief.
 
The first game of the day did not have the same level of drama, as Haverford scored seven runs in the final two innings to open up a close contest and give the Fords a 12-3 win.
 
Vasquez had a good game at the plate for the Valiants in a losing effort, going 3 for 3 in her only game of the day, while Damianos and Ventarola both homered for Manhattanville as well.
 
Haverford came out strong by scoring the first five runs of the game, putting Manhattanville in an early hole. The Valiants got one back in the second courtesy of a Casino RBI ground out, and then made it a two-run game after Damianos and Ventarola homered back-to-back to lead off the fourth inning.
 
But the Valiant defense let down freshman starter Laurel Coito (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) in the late innings, as two errors led to four unearned runs that allowed the Fords to break the game open and earn the win. Coito (0-1) allowed all 12 runs for Manhattanville in suffering the loss, but only five of the runs were earned thanks to five Valiant defensive miscues.
 
After taking a well-deserved day off tomorrow, Manhattanville will get back to action on Wednesday morning with two games against Emerson (9 a.m.) and Moravian (11 a.m.).