ST. DAVID'S, Pa. – The Manhattanville College baseball team split a doubleheader matchup with Eastern University Saturday afternoon, taking game one 8-2 before falling to the Eagles in the rubber match 7-3.
 
The Valiants (24-14 overall, 13-8 MAC Freedom) have secured the three seed for the MAC Freedom playoffs beginning next weekend at Owls Field in West Lawn, Pa.  Manhattanville will square off with two seed DeSales University Friday evening at 7:30 P.M. in the opening game of the double elimination tournament. 
 
Juniors Joe Anselmi (North Rockland, N.Y./North Rockland) and Robbie Lynch (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep), and sophomore Danny Gallagher (Nanuet, N.Y./Paramus Catholic) had three hits apiece for Manhattanville Saturday.  Junior Chris Conklin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland), along with Gallagher and Lynch drove in two runs each and scored a combined four runs on the day. 
 
Senior Dillon Healy (Hastings, N.Y./Hastings) was lights out on the mound in game one for the Valiants, going five innings in the start, scattering four hits and allowing just one run to earn his fourth win of the season.  Fellow senior Sam Garito (New Rochelle, N.Y./Iona Prep) closed the door in relief, allowing one run over two innings to help the Valiants earn the win in game one. 
 
GAME ONE:  The Valiants never trailed in game one, going on top with three runs in the first highlight by RBI doubles from Lynch and Anselmi.  After the Eagles (16-21-3 overall, 9-12 MAC Freedom) scored a single run in the bottom half of the frame, the Valiants plated two runs in the second and two more in the third to break the game open and lead 7-1 after three innings of play.
 
Senior Jordanis Nunez (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond), junior Anthony Iannuzzi (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas), and Gallagher all had two hits apiece in the win.  Junior Chris Conklin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) scored twice to help the Valiants cruise to an 8-1 victory, setting up a decisive game three to determine the season series.
 
GAME TWO:  Manhattanville fell behind early in the final game, when sophomore Dennis Berardi (Brewster, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic) walked in a run with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first.  The Valiants responded with three runs in the top of the second however on RBI singles from Conklin and Gallagher and a bases loaded walk of their own to take a 3-1 lead.
 
The lead was short lived for Manahttanville, as Eastern answered with two runs of their own in their at bat to level the score at 3-3 after two innings of play. 
 
After Berardi exited the game after three innings of work, the Eagles took the lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, and doubled their lead with another bases loaded walk to make it 5-3.  After holding the Valiants scoreless in the top of the sixth, the Eagles once again doubled their lead in the bottom of the inning, plating two runs on back-to-back doubles to put the game away. 
 
The Valiants have one final tuneup before heading to the conference tournament, as they travel to Vassar College on Tuesday for their final non-conference game of the regular season.