PURCHASE, N.Y. – A pair of big innings undermined the Manhattanville College softball team on Sunday afternoon, as DeSales University broke open a pair of close games late and came away with 16-3 and 8-4 victories over the Valiants in Freedom Conference action at Manhattanville Field.
 
The losses drop Manhattanville to 7-11 (1-5 Freedom), while DeSales improves to 9-7 (7-1 Freedom) with the two wins.
 
Manhattanville scored the first three runs of game one, but DeSales came back with the final 16 to post a 16-3 win in five innings.
 
The Valiants scratched out five hits in the contest, led by sophomore Alicia Marino (Mahopac, N.Y./Pleasantville) with a two-run homer. Senior Rosaria Callara (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) also had a hit and drove in a run for the Valiants.
 
After Marino left the bases loaded with a pair of strikeouts in the top of the first, Manhattanville wasted no time jumping on DJ McCauley in the bottom half. Freshman Alexis Ventarola (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) led off the inning with a double and quickly came home on an RBI single by Callara. Marino followed with a two-run homer to right-center, putting the home team up by three after one frame.
 
DeSales used the long ball to take the lead in the third inning, getting a leadoff homer from Michelle Gessner and a three-run shot off the bat of Carly Bartholomew to take a 4-3 lead. The Bulldogs tacked on 12 more in the fourth inning to build up an insurmountable 16-3 lead.
 
McCauley (4-3) settled down after a tough first, allowing three runs on five hits. Marino (6-3) suffered the loss for Manhattanville, allowing all 16 runs on 13 hits in five frames.
 
The second game was a lot closer, but a pair of two-run homers gave DeSales a lead and a late grand slam clinched it in an 8-4 victory that completed the sweep.
 
Callara (0-5) pitched well for Manhattanville but suffered the hard-luck loss, allowing four runs on seven hits over the first six innings before the Bulldogs tacked on insurance runs late. Andrea Artesani (4-2) worked around seven walks to allow four runs on seven hits and pick up the win.
 
At the plate, Marino again was the Valiants' top threat, going 2 for 4 with a homer, two runs batted in and a run scored. Sophomore Melissa Iarocci (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) also had two hits and scored a run for Manhattanville.
 
As in game one, Manhattanville took an early lead by scoring the first two runs of game two. Marino started the scoring in the first with an RBI single, as sophomore Shelbee Damianos (Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff) just beat the throw at the plate. The Valiants got another run in the second on another close play at home; this time, it was Iarocci with a great slide to elude the tag on an infield grounder by Ventarola. McCauley tied the game for DeSales in the top of the third with a two-run homer.
 
It was Marino's turn to shine in the fifth inning, both in the field and at the plate. She made a pair of excellent defensive plays in the top half to keep the Bulldogs off the board, and then led off the bottom half with her second homer of the day just over the fence in right center to put Manhattanville ahead 3-2.
 
But DeSales again used the long ball to score twice and take its first lead of the game in the sixth inning. This time it was Haley Frati going deep to put the Bulldogs ahead 4-3. Alexa Beaumont added a grand slam in the seventh inning to provide Artesani some insurance, which was needed after sophomore Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) drove home one run in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Manhattanville will again get right back to action tomorrow, as the Valiants play their third straight Freedom Conference doubleheader at Eastern University beginning at 3 p.m. in St. Davids, Pa.