Softball | 5/3/2018 11:45:00 AM

PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College softball team will begin its quest for a third straight MAC Freedom title as the top seed this weekend as the Valiants make the trip to King's (Pa.) College for the 2018 MAC Freedom Softball Championship.
 
THE TEAMS: Manhattanville (21-13, 10-4 MAC Freedom) is the top seed in the tournament for the fifth time in the last seven years overall and will face off with fourth-seeded King's College (20-18, 8-6 MAC Freedom) in the opening game of the weekend on Friday at 10 a.m. Second-seeded DeSales University (14-14, 9-5 MAC Freedom) and third-seeded Misericordia University (22-16, 9-5 MAC Freedom) will battle in the second opening-round game at noon on Friday.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Manhattanville is making its eighth postseason appearance in the last nine years, with the Valiants 15-9 all-time in the MAC Freedom Tournament, including a 4-3 mark in opening-round games. The Valiants have won MAC Freedom titles in 2014, 2016 and 2017 and nine conference tournament titles overall, having previously taken the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference title in 1991, 1995 and 1997 as well as the Skyline Conference Tournament crown in 2002, 2005 and 2007. The last six of those titles have come under current head coach Dale Martin.
 
FAB FIVE: Manhattanville had five players earn spots on the All-MAC Freedom teams that were released on Wednesday. Senior Alycia Feeney (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) was named MAC Freedom Pitcher of the Year for the third straight year and was joined on the first team by graduate student Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge). Senior Alexis Ventarola (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) and freshman Jordyn Boyd (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville) earned All-Conference second-team honors, while junior Aarin Hartenstein (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) earned honorable mention.
 
MILESTONE MARTIN: Manhattanville head coach Dale Martin has achieved a pair of career milestones this season. The 12th-year Valiant leader earned his 300th victory at Manhattanville on April 21 at Misericordia, and then picked up his 400th career victory on April 27 against the College of Mount St. Vincent. Martin brings a record of 304-157-1 (.661) at Manhattanville and a career mark of 403-323-1 (.555) into the postseason.
 
DIEMICKE'S THE KEY: Diemicke has put together her best offensive season in her final year, hitting .411 with a team-leading eight homers, 18 extra-base hits, 29 runs scored and 23 runs batted in. She also paces the team in slugging percentage (.738) and on-base percentage (.442), while she enters the weekend fourth on the school's career hits list (168 in 157 games).
 
ALL ABOUT ALYCIA: Feeney is the Valiants' ace in the circle, as she looks to improve her resume that already includes three MAC Freedom Pitcher of the Year awards and two MAC Freedom Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. The senior is 12-6 with a 2.03 ERA in 103.2 innings and has allowed only nine earned runs in 64.0 innings since March 27. With a year still to go, Feeney is already the school's all-time leader in shutouts (24) while also ranking second in wins (56), third in ERA (1.86) and fourth in strikeouts (314).
 
STIFF COMPETITION: Martin put together a challenging schedule for Manhattanville this year, as the Valiants rank 36th in D-III with a .583 opponents' winning percentage this season and rank second in the East Region with a .585 strength of schedule. Manhatanville enters the postseason ranked ninth in the East Region according to the latest NCAA regional rankings released on Thursday.
 
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: As a team, Manhattanville enters the postseason ranks fifth in Division III by averaging 1.35 home runs per game and also ranks 17th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.03) and 18th in slugging percentage (.522). Individually, Diemicke ranks 49th in the country with her eight home runs, while Hartenstein's 0.25 homers per game rank 36th and Feeney's four shutouts are 54th.
 
ABOUT THE LADY MONARCHS: Fourth-seeded King's made the tournament for the 19th straight year thanks to Misericordia's 10-inning win over FDU-Florham on the final day of the year, as the Lady Monarchs earned the fourth seed via tiebreaker. Manhattanville and King's split its regular-season doubleheader on April 8, as Feeney tossed a three-hit shutout in a 5-0 win before the Valiants conceded three unearned runs in the final two innings of a 3-2 defeat. King's, who has won 10 conference titles but none since 2011, is led at the plate by All-MAC Freedom first-team picks Lexi Wolk (.363, 13 RBIs, 15 runs) and Amber Saylor (.337, 4 HR, 26 RBIs, 33 runs). Nicole Kirse is the team's top pitcher statistically with a 2.58 ERA in 14 appearances.
 
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: DeSales was the top team in the MAC Freedom for most of the season before a pair of losses to Wilkes University on the final day of the regular season dropped the team into second place. The Bulldogs are making their 10th MAC Freedom Tournament appearance since 1998 and have won three conference titles in 2008, 2013 and 2015. First-team All-Conference pick Reilly Kerr paces the Bulldog offense with a .483 batting average, 11 extra-base hits and 27 RBIs, while fellow first-teamer Carly Benjamin hits .363 with 22 RBIs. Hailey Warner leads the team in the circle, going 9-3 with a 3.01 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 72.0 innings.
 
ABOUT THE COUGARS: Third-seeded Misericordia is in the postseason for the fifth straight year and eighth time since 2008, looking for its second MAC Freedom title (2012). MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year Amanda Butera is the team's top player at the plate, hitting .428 with a conference-best nine homers, 22 extra-base hits, 29 RBIs and 40 runs scored, while Kiersten Pflueger is also over .400 at the dish with 23 RBIs and 34 runs scored. In the circle, Brooke Moyle is 9-6 with a 3.68 ERA in 85.2 innings.
 
The complete tournament schedule for the double-elimination weekend is as follows, weather permitting:

Friday, May 4, 2018
Game 1 - 10:00 am: #1 Manhattanville vs. #4 King's (Pa.)
Game 2 - 12:00 pm: #2 DeSales vs. #3 Misericordia
Game 3 - 2:00 pm: Game #1 Winner vs. Game #2 Winner
Game 4 - 4:00 pm: Game #1 Loser vs. Game #2 Loser (loser is eliminated)

Saturday, May 5, 2018
Game 5 - 11:00 am: Game #3 Loser vs. Game #4 Winner (loser is eliminated)
Game 6 - 1:00 pm: Game #3 Winner vs. Game #5 Winner
Game 7 - 3:00 pm: Game #3 Winner vs. Game #5 Winner (if necessary)
 
One-day admission for the championship is $6.00 for adults, $5.00 for seniors and $3.00 for students, For those that can't make it to Wilkes-Barre for the weekend, King's will be providing live stats and live video for all games and fans can also follow Manhattanville Athletics on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates and photos as well.
 
For more information on the 2018 Freedom Conference Softball Championships, including team information and visitor information, visit the tournament web page. As a reminder, King's has a no-pet policy that is strictly enforced at the Betzler Athletic Complex.