PURCHASE, N.Y. – Five different Valiants homered and the pitching staff allowed the same amount of hits over the span of 11 innings as the Manhattanville College softball team continued to roll in MAC Freedom play with an 8-0 (6 inn.) and 9-0 (5 inn.) doubleheader sweep of Misericordia University on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Manhattanville Field.
Manhattanville (14-8, 8-0 MAC Freedom) had as many homers as Misericordia (9-11, 3-3 MAC Freedom) had hits on the afternoon, as the Valiants pounded out 25 hits and hit .481 as a team. Senior
Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) hit .800 (4 for 5) for the day, while sophomore
Sophia Chapelone (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) had four hits and scored five times while classmate
Desiree Buboi (Villa Park, Calif./Orange Lutheran) went 3 for 6 with a homer, two doubles, and five runs batted in.
Meanwhile, the tandem of junior
Alycia Feeney (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) and sophomore
Aarin Hartenstein (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) completely neutralized the Cougar offense from the circle, scattering just five singles and striking out seven in 11 innings of shutout softball.
Game 1: Manhattanville 8, Misericordia 0 (6 inn.)
Manhattanville utilized the long ball to pick up the win in game one, as the team's first six runs came via home run in the 8-0 win. Seniors
Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) and
Alicia Marino (Mahopac, N.Y./Pleasantville) joined Buboi and Hartenstein in sending balls over the fence in the victory.
It took the Valiants only three batters to take a two-run lead in the first inning, as Chapelone led off with a single and came home on Buboi's fourth homer of the year. Three more came home in the third, as Diemicke and Hartenstein went back-to-back to give the Valiants a five-run cushion.
Marino added to the differential with a solo homer in the fifth inning before the home team added two more in the sixth to finish off the contest, with an RBI double from Chapelone and a run-scoring single from junior
Laurel Coito (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) ending the game early.
Feeney (7-4) had her way with the Misericordia lineup, ceding only three singles and allowing only three runners to reach second base in the six-inning win. With her 15th career shutout, Feeney moved into sole possession of second place on the school's career list, behind only the 23 of Maggie Thomas '07.
Game 2: Manhattanville 9, Misericordia 0 (5 inn.)
Eleven different Valiants had at least one hit in the second game of the day, as Manhattanville scored early and often in a 9-0 victory. Freshman
Sam Jedrey (La Canada Flintridge, Calif./La Canada) had a big game, going 2-for-3 with her first career home run and two RBIs, while Buboi drove in three more runs as well.
Manhattanville got on the board with one run in the first inning thanks to a Diemicke sacrifice fly that would have been much worse if not for a nice running catch by right fielder Alexis D'Amico.
But the big inning was the second, when six Valiants came around to score. Jedrey started it with an RBI single to score classmate
Melina Strano (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster), followed by a Misericordia throwing error on a Chapelone single that allowed Jedrey to cross the plate. Buboi doubled home a pair to make it a 5-0 game, followed by an RBI double from Diemicke and an RBI single from Hartenstein to end the rally.
Jedrey started the fourth with a bullet that one-hopped the scoreboard well beyond center field, her first career home run, and Buboi added an RBI grounder later in the inning to complete the scoring.
Hartenstein (4-2) was in cruise control all game long, allowing only one runner to reach scoring position as she scattered two hits and struck out three in five innings.
Manhattanville will return to action on Tuesday evening, when the Valiants take on New York University beginning at 6 p.m. at Fordham University.
