PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Valiants led for the most of the way in both games of Saturday's doubleheader, but a seventh inning rally by the visiting Mount Saint Mary College led to a split for the Manhattanville College softball team. The split will move the Valiants' record on the year to 7-11 overall, while Manhattanville suffers its first conference defeat, moving to 3-1 against the Skyline.

Game One Recap: Manhattanville 5, Mount Saint Mary 2
On the back of a complete game by Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) in the opener, the Valiants scored runs in four separate innings to earn the win in the opener.

The junior pitcher found her way out of trouble throughout all of Game One, navigating four hits and five walks to allow just two runs, one of which was earned. Shinstine was able to utilize her strikeout pitch to limit the damage, punching out seven in the game.

The Valiants took the lead in the bottom of the first, as Sarah Harker (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) collected her 12^th RBI of the year with a single to right that brought home Giovanna Liggett (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison). The Knights clawed back with a run in the second, capitalizing on a Valiant error that eventually allowed an unearned run to score, but the Valiants were quick to respond in the bottom half. With two away, Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) connected with a single up the middle. The loose ball was mishandled by the Knights' centerfielder, allowing Olivia Fasce (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) to go second to home and putting the Vals back on top. In the ensuing at-bat, Liggett dropped one in to left field to score Walsh with the third run of the game.

The Knights got back to within one in the fourth after a Alicia Killeen sac fly. In the next at-bat, Olivia Ferara drilled a ball up the middle. Melanie McClinchey tried to score from second, but a laser of a throw from Harker in center gunned her down at the plate to preserve the home team's lead.

Manhattanville added insurance runs in the bottom halves of the fourth and fifth. A Liggett RBI single scored Shinstine before Melissa Lopez (Whittier, Calif./California) drilled a double to left field to plate Harker an inning later. With a three run lead at her disposal, Shinstine went right after the Mount Saint Mary batters, retiring the last nine in a row to secure the win, including four via strike out.

Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 4, Mount Saint Mary 5
The Valiants rolled out the same starting nine for the backend of the twin bill, but the Knights finally got to Shinstine in their final inning to complete the late comeback and take Game Two
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In the bottom of the first, Walsh doubled to left and came around to score one batter later off a Liggett single and a misplay in the outfield. The one run would be all for either offense until the fifth inning, as pitching took the upper hand.
Once again, Shinstine worked her way in and out of trouble through most of this one. The junior was able to navigate through the first six innings by leaving runners stranded in scoring position three separate times, allowing just one run in her first six innings. The lone blemish came in the fifth after Jenna Cedeno snuck a grounder through the right side of the infield to score Killeen with the tying run.

As they did in the opener, the Valiants wasted little time to get their lead back, as Amaya Esparza (Descansco, Calif./Granite Hills) drilled a two run homer over the right field fence to put Manhattanville back on top 3-1. It was the sophomore catcher's fourth deep fly of the season.
Up by two and with Shinstine continuing to deal, the Valiants looked to close the door in the seventh and pick up the sweep. The visiting Knights, however, had different plans. A single and a walk put Mount Saint Mary in business with one away. Riley Norwood came up with the first big hit with a single to right center that plated Ferara. An error loaded the bases before Nicole Rosner showed good discipline at the plate to draw a walk and bring home the tying run. The floodgates opened one batter later as Sofia Gannon double to right field to score a pair and bring an end to Shinstine's outing. The pitcher's final line was 6.1 innings pitched and five runs allowed (four earned) on nine hits and six walks with six strikeouts. Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) came in to record the final two outs, but the Valiants had little time to work with to regain their lead.

Manhattanville refused to roll over despite watching their lead evaporate, as Liggett reached and advanced to second on a dropped fly ball before Esparza singled to put runners on the corners. Christen Hansen was able to retire the next two before Lopez lined a single up the middle to score one and put the trying run at third. That would be as close as Manhattanville would get, as Olivia Fasce (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) grounded into a fielder's choice and the Knights escaped with the win.

Up Next
The Valiants will play their first conference road games tomorrow with a twin bill against Saint Joseph's (Long Island) starting at noon.