EWING, N.J. – Freshmen Desiree Buboi (Villa Park, Calif./Orange Lutheran) and Sophia Chapelone (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) drove in all five Valiant runs via the long ball as NFCA #19 and second-seeded Manhattanville College stayed alive in the Ewing, New Jersey, Regional of the NCAA Division III Softball Championships with a 5-0 win over top-seeded The College of New Jersey in game one of the championship round at TCNJ's Dr. June Walker Field on Saturday.
 
With the win, Manhattanville (40-3) forces the if-necessary game at the Ewing Regional, which will match the Valiants and TCNJ (30-15) once again at approximately 2:45 p.m. The winner advances to the NCAA Super Regionals next weekend.
 
Manhattanville had only three hits against TCNJ on the afternoon, but two swings resulted in all five runs. Chapelone went 1 for 3 with a walk and three runs batted in, while Buboi drove in two. Junior Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) also had a hit and scored a run for the visitors.
 
Meanwhile, sophomore Alycia Feeney (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) limited the Lions offensively all game long, scattering four hits and striking out three on the way to her program-record 11th shutout of the season and 24th victory of the year against three losses.
 
The Valiants got off to exactly the start they wanted in the first inning, getting two runs to jump out to an early lead. Sophomore Laurel Coito (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) was hit on a full-count pitch to get on base, and then Buboi launched a rocket over the wall in dead center to give Manhattanville a 2-0 lead over half an inning and also tie her with Alyssa Taylor '14 for the program single-season record with her 14th homer of the year.
 
Manhattanville used the long ball to get on the board again in the fourth, with another California freshman doing the honors. Diemicke drew a leadoff walk and then beat the throw to second on a sac bunt from classmate Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster), and Chapelone followed with a three-run shot to left that put the Valiants up 5-0.
 
That was more than enough for Feeney, who retired 12 of the last 13 batters of the game.