SALISBURY, Md. – The Manhattanville College softball team was three defensive outs away from a sweep after a seventh-inning comeback, but the Valiants had to settle for a split with Salisbury University in Sunday's non-conference doubleheader at the Seagull Softball Stadium. The Valiants took game one, 12-1 (5 inn.), before the Seagulls came back to win the second game, 4-3.
 
Sophomore Sophia Chapelone (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) was the offensive star for Manhattanville (8-8) on the afternoon, going 6-for-8 with a homer, two doubles, five runs batted in and three runs scored. Senior Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) also scored three times and classmate Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) had a homer and three RBIs as well for the visitors.
 
Game One: Manhattanville 12, Salisbury 1 (5 inn.)
 
Manhattanville bookended the first game of the day with big innings, as the visitors scored five times in the first and then added six more in the fifth to finish off Salisbury early, 12-1 (5 inn.). Chapelone recorded a game-high three hits, drove in three runs and scored twice, while Diemicke delivered a three-run homer as part of a 2-for-3 effort.
 
It took only eight pitches for the Valiants to get on the board in the first inning, as Chapelone doubled on the second pitch of the game and then, after a hit batter, sophomore Desiree Buboi (Villa Park, Calif./Orange Lutheran) traded places with an RBI double. After an error allowed junior Laurel Coito (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) to cross the plate, Diemicke delivered the big blow with a three-run homer to right-center to give the Valiants a 5-0 lead after half an inning.
 
Manhattanville got one run over the next three innings on another RBI base hit from Buboi, and then exploded for six more in the fifth. An infield single from freshman Melina Strano (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) scored the first run, while Chapelone drove in three with a bases-clearing double and sophomore Aarin Hartenstein (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) added a two-run double to complete the scoring.
 
Junior Alycia Feeney (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) made only one real mistake all game, a fourth-inning solo homer off the bat of Caitlin Lake. Feeney (4-4) allowed only four hits and the one run in the five-inning complete game.
 
Game Two: Salisbury 4, Manhattanville 3
 
Manhattanville rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh to take a lead into the bottom half, but Salisbury came back with two runs in its last at-bat to salvage a split with a 4-3 win.
 
Chapelone had another big game for the Valiants, going 3-for-4 with a two-run homer that put the visitors ahead in the top of the seventh. The rally started with a leadoff single by Strano, and then Deieso used her speed to force a Seagull miscue that allowed Strano to score just before Chapelone launched her first long ball of the year.
 
But Salisbury returned the favor in the bottom half, as a leadoff error was followed by a RBI triple from LeAnne Collins and a game-winning sacrifice fly off the bat of Brooke Yerger.
 
Freshman Melissa Hess (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Hubert Catholic) took the loss in relief, as she tossed a pair of scoreless innings to keep the Valiants close before giving up two runs in the seventh. Hartenstein threw the first four innings, allowing two runs on five hits. The Valiant pitchers did an excellent job of holding down Salisbury in tight situations, limiting the home team to one hit in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
 
Manhattanville will once again look to start the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday, when the Valiants welcome William Paterson University to Manhattanville Field for two games beginning at 3:00 p.m.