FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – With a guaranteed spot in the Skyline Conference Championship games on the line, the Manhattanville College softball team suffered its first postseason loss yesterday morning, dropping an 8-3 contest against top-seeded Farmingdale. The loss knocked the Valiants into the elimination bracket with a loser-goes-home game against St. Joseph's-Brooklyn that was suspended after one inning of play yesterday.
In a rain-soaked affair on Friday morning, the Rams plated four first inning runs to secure a lead they would hold the rest of the way. Although only two of the runs charged against her would be earned, it was a rough go for
Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) in the circle, lasting only two innings in the start. The junior allowed only two hits, but five walks issued in the first two frames led to her giving way to
Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) in the circle after a lead-off walk to begin the top of the third.
After giving up the four-run first, the Valiants did begin to fight their way back into the game as
Giovanna Liggett (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) hit a solo home run in the first before Mottoshiski drilled a solo shot of her own in the third, cutting Farmingdale's lead in half at 4-2. While Mottoshiski had a pair of painless innings to begin her outing, she found trouble in the fifth as Allie Stanya lined a two run triple to right center to put the Rams back up by four.
Two more runs scored for Farmingdale in the sixth on a pair of hits and two Valiant errors, brining an end to Mottoshiski's outing with 3.2 innings pitched, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks, striking out one.
Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) took over for the final 1.1 innings of work, allowing just one hit and striking out a batter.
Although Walsh was able to hold the Farmingdale lead where it was, Manhattanville was unable to claw back in their final two innings at the plate. Manhattanville got a pair on in the sixth after
Abby Tanuma (Chula Vista, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) and
Rachel Coleman (Lake Forest, Calif./Mission Viejo) hit back-to-back singles, but an inning ending double play erased the threat.
Jayleen Torres (Downey, Calif./Downey) reached with two away in the seventh on a Farmingdale error before stealing second and scoring on a Walsh single, but that was as close as the Valiants would get, dropping into the other half of the bracket as the Rams secured a spot in the championship.
Manhattanville was scheduled to take on the winner of Mount Saint Mary vs St.-Joseph's-Brooklyn yesterday afternoon, but a 12 run seventh inning by the Bears to claim the win in that one delayed the start of their game against Manhattanville. The Bears led the Valiants 4-3 after a busy first inning before inclement weather resulted in a suspension of the contest. After the rain carried over into Saturday, the contest between the Valiants and Bears will be resumed on Sunday at 10 a.m. The winner will advance to take on Farmingdale in the championship game at noon, with the second game, if necessary, following 20 minutes afterwards.
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