PURCHASE, N.Y. – Graduate student Shauna Mulkerin (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata) had a pair of home runs to lead a Manhattanville College offense that hit .618 and picked up 34 hits in 10 innings, as the Valiants picked up 15-3 and 15-1 victories over neighboring Purchase College in non-conference softball action on Tuesday afternoon at Manhattanville Field.
 
The Valiants dominated the Panther pitching staff on the evening, going 34 for 55 at the plate and registering 11 extra-base hits, including five homers. Mulkerin went 4 for 6 with two of those long balls and six runs batted in to lead the way, but she was not alone.
 
Sophomore Adrena Daw (Crompond, N.Y./Walter Panas) went 7 for 8 with three doubles and four runs scored, while senior Rosaria Callara (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) had six hits in seven at-bats, scored four times and also earned her first career win in the circle. Freshman Alexis Ventarola (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) also had six hits, homered and scored five times.
 
Mulkerin was the offensive star for Manhattanville in game one, going 3 for 3 with two homers and six runs batted in as the Valiants picked up a 15-3 victory in five innings.
 
The Valiants spotted Purchase two unearned runs in the first inning, but came back with five in the second to quickly take control. After a sacrifice fly from sophomore Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster), Mulkerin launched her first of the day to put the home team ahead, and that was followed by RBI singles later in the frame from Callara and sophomore Shelbee Damianos (Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff).
 
Manhattanville put up a crooked number again in the next frame, and again it was Mulkerin providing the damage. Freshman Mackenzie Trainor (Port Jervis, N.Y./Port Jervis) and Deieso started the rally with a bunt single and walk, respectively, before Mulkerin homered for the second straight inning to make it an 8-3 score. The long ball marked the 16th time in program history a Valiant had two homers in a game, but makes the shortstop only the fourth to do so more than once in a career.
 
Playing with a five-run lead, the home team then sent 12 players to the plate in the fourth to eclipse the eight-run margin. Senior Alyssa Casino (Rye Brook, N.Y./Maria Regina) started the rally with a two-run homer of her own, followed by RBI singles from Mulkerin and Callara as well as a Damianos RBI grounder that gave the Valiants a comfortable advantage.
 
Sophomore Alicia Marino (Mahopac, N.Y./Pleasantville) was the beneficiary of all the offense, earning the victory (7-4) in the circle by allowing only one earned run on six hits in five innings of work.
 
The runs kept coming in game two, as the Valiants used two homers to go ahead early and then an 11-run third inning to blow the game open in a 15-1 five-inning win.
 
After again giving Purchase an early advantage, it took the Valiants all of three batters to put three runs on the board in the bottom of the first, as Ventarola and Callara singled to start the frame and Damianos drove them both home with a homer to left field. Manhattanville got one more in the second and again it came via the long ball, as Ventarola sent a laser over the fence in straight-away center to make it a 4-1 lead.
 
Then came the third inning, when 16 Valiants came to the plate and 11 of them came all the way around to break the game open. Six Valiants drove in runs during the inning, including three from Deieso on an RBI ground out and then a two-run single later in the frame.
 
Lost in the offensive outburst was a great outing in the circle for Callara (1-6), who earned her first career victory by scattering four hits and allowing just one run in five innings. She also went 3 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored at the plate as well to help her own cause.
 
After a well deserved day off tomorrow, Manhattanville will be back in action on Thursday, when the team travels to Montclair State University for a 3 p.m. twinbill with the Red Hawks.