PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College softball team, ranked No. 18 in the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 poll, picked up a pair of non-conference victories Tuesday afternoon, April 23, against The College of New Rochelle at home.
 
Manhattanville (33-2) cruised to the five-inning 9-0 victory in game one, thanks in large part to graduate student pitcher Alycia Feeney (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) and her complete-game one-hitter. Feeney improved to 13-1 on the season as she struck out six batters against the Blue Angels (13-17). Game two was a higher-scoring affair that saw New Rochelle make it a game late, but the Valiants stormed back to close out strong. The highlight came in the bottom of the sixth off the bat of senior Aarin Hartenstein (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) as she cracked her 32nd-career home run to tie the program's all-time mark.
 
Game 1
A lightning-fast contest, the first half of the doubleheader lasted just four-and-a-half innings and clocked in just under an hour. Feeney sent the top of the order down 1-2-3 to start the first and Hartenstein notched a pair of RBI on a two-run double in the home half to make it 2-0 Valiants. New Rochelle snuck in an infield single to lead off the second, but that would be the only hit for the Blue Angles in game one.
 
The next 15 combined batters failed to reach base and almost instantly, it was the bottom of the fourth inning. Manhattanville exploded for seven runs this inning, including five doubles and a pair of home runs – seven extra base hits. Senior Evonne Torres (Hacienda Heights, Calif./Pioneer) led off with a double, followed by a double from Hartenstein to put runners on second and third with no outs. Sophomore Jordyn boyd wasted no time and took the first pitch she saw deep to left to make it 5-0 with one swing.
 
Senior Sophia Chapelone (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) was next to reach on a double and crossed the plate during the next at-bat thanks to a one-run double to left from graduate student Alexis Ventarola (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester). With one out and a runner on second, sophomore Isela Casillas (Chula Vista, Calif./Eastlake) singled up the middle for the RBI before scoring seconds later on a two-run home run from rookie Giovanna Liggett (Fountain Valley, Calif./Edison) to make it 9-0.
 
Game 2
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Hartenstein yet again broke through for the game's first score with yet another two-run double. Boyd followed with a one-run single to center to make it 3-0 after one inning. After a scoreless second, the Valiants put up four runs in the third. Senior Desiree Buboi (Villa Park, Calif./Orange Lutheran) led off the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to center to make it 4-0 – it was the 31st of her career and she is just one shy of tying Hartenstein and Jessica Van Galen (2010-13) for the all-time lead.
 
Later in the inning, with one out and the bases loaded, Ventarola notched another RBI with a single to center to make it 5-0 before sophomore Brooke Franson (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) closed out the scoring for the inning with a two-run single through the right side to score Chapelone and Boyd. New Rochelle touched up Hartenstein a little over the next two innings, scratching across five runs (two earned) on a few errors and a home run to make it 7-5 with no outs in the top of the fifth.
 
Sophomore Jasmine Felicia entered the circle and proceed to send down her opposing batters in order, including a pair of strikeouts, to put a lid on it. Manhattanville backed up its hurler to back-to-back solo home runs to start the bottom of the fifth from Chapelone and Ventarola and it was now 9-5. Feliciano send down the side in order once again in the top of the six and picked up two more strikeouts. Once again in the bottom of the sixth, the Valiants led off the inning with back-to-back solo homers, this time from Torres and Hartenstein. Torres' long ball was her team-leading 12th of the season, just three shy of the single-season program mark of 15, set by Alicia Mariano in 2017. As mentioned, Hartenstein's home run tied her for the program's all-time lead.
 
Feliciano picked up two more strikeouts in the top of the seventh to seal her first-career save, the first of the season for the Valiants.
 
Manhattanville will return to action on the road tomorrow afternoon, Wednesday, April 24, for a non-conference doubleheader at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. Game one is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.