SALISBURY, Md. – Manhattanville College took game one from Salisbury University but settled for a split after dropping game two of a non-conference softball doubleheader on Thursday afternoon at the Sea Gull Softball Stadium.
 
Junior Aarin Hartenstein (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) had a big day at the plate for Manhattanville (7-5), hitting .714 (5 for 7) with a homer and a team-best four runs scored. Five other Valiants had multiple hits on the day, including freshman Isela Casillas (Chula Vista, Calif./Eastlake), who also tied the team lead with two runs batted in.
 
Game 1: Manhattanville 6, Salisbury 5
 
Manhattanville jumped out to a 6-1 lead and then held on in the later innings in game one. Hartenstein had a game-high three hits, while Casillas and senior Alexis Ventarola (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) both had two hits and drove in a pair for the Valiants in the 6-5 victory.
 
Freshman Brooke Franson (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) led off the game in the best way possible for the Valiants, launching the third offering from Brea Bishop over the fence for her second homer of the year. Salisbury got that run back in the bottom of the second with an unearned run, but the damage was limited thanks to a great sliding catch in shallow right field by Ventarola to save a pair of runs from scoring.
 
Ventarola put the Valiants back ahead in the top of the fourth, blooping a fly ball along the left-field line to score Hartenstein, and the Valiants tacked on four runs in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead. Sophomore Sam Jedrey (La Canada Flintridge, Calif./La Canada) started the rally with a RBI single, followed by a sacrifice fly on Ventarola. Casillas then followed with a big two-out, two-run single to add some more insurance.
 
Those runs were necessary after the Sea Gulls got three runs back in the fifth and one more in the sixth. The home team seemed poised to tie the game in the sixth on a fly ball to medium-depth center field from Dakotah Fraley with two in scoring position and one out, but Casillas made a heads-up play to throw to third base and get the tag on the trail runner before lead runner Amelia Trotter touched home plate.
 
Salisbury threatened again in the seventh, putting a runner in scoring position with one out, but senior Alycia Feeney (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) induced a groundout and then added a strikeout to end the game. Feeney (5-3) earned the win, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits in seven innings.
 
Game 2: Salisbury 8, Manhattanville 2
 
Salisbury turned the tables in game two, jumping out to a four-run lead after one inning and cruising to the 8-2 victory. Hartenstein and freshman Jordyn Boyd (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville) led the Valiants with two hits each, with Hartenstein homering and scoring twice.
 
After falling behind early thanks to a four-run first inning, Hartenstein got one run back with a solo homer to lead off the second stanza. The home team added single runs in the third and fourth innings to take a five-run lead into the sixth.
 
Despite being down by five, Manhattanville managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the sixth, beginning with a one-out double by Hartenstein and a run-scoring grounder by graduate student Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge). A single and walk loaded the bases with one out, but Alexis Layton entered the circle for Salisbury and got a lineout and strikeout to end the threat.
 
Hartenstein (2-2) suffered the loss in the circle, allowing six runs on eight hits in three-plus innings. Rachael Milligan ceded two runs on five hits in 5.1 innings to earn the win, while Layton tossed 1.2 scoreless frames to pick up the save.
 
Manhattanville is currently slated to begin its home schedule on Saturday against King's (Pa.) College.