NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Manhattanville College softball team logged their second-straight doubleheader sweep on Wednesday afternoon, winning a pair of games at Albertus Magnus. The wins (9-1, 4-0) improves the team's record to 8-4 overall.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 9, Albertus Magnus 1 (Six Innings)
A late offensive rally coupled with a dominant pitching display allowed the Valiants to take the opener of Wednesday's action via run rule in the sixth inning.
Manhattanville plated five runs in the sixth to blow the game open with a 9-0 lead, and while the Falcons were able to get a run on the board in the bottom half, it was not enough to force the game into the seventh inning.
After a scoreless first,
Amaya Esparza (Descanso, Calif./Granite Hills) hit her second home run of the season to lead off the second to give the Valiants the lead. Two batters later,
Sydni Brooks (Anaheim, Calif./Cypress) delivered an RBI single to score
Juliana Parkes (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada/Belmont Secondary) to double Manhattanville's advantage, 2-0.
The Valiants plated two more runs in the fourth.
Sarah Harker (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) led off the inning with a triple, scoring easily on Esparza's double in the following at-bat. The Valiant catcher came around to score herself on Parkes' second RBI single of the contest. Despite the three straight hits to open up the inning, the Valiants were held to just the two runs as a pair of pop ups and a strikeout prevented any further damage.
While the bats did their work,
Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) was back at it in the circle. Coming off her three no-hit innings in Saturday's combined no-hitter versus Yeshiva, the senior went 3.1 innings against the Falcons before surrendering a hit on a single by Peyton Davis. Shinstine would hold the runner there as she got two quick outs to protect the team's 4-0 lead.
Manhattanville did their most damage in the top of the sixth, scoring five runs on four hits. The Valiants loaded the bases with one away on a pair of singles and a hit batter.
Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) scored from third on a passed ball before
Melissa Lopez (Whittier, Calif./California) plated a pair on a single, brining
Cady Sickler (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) and Brooks home.
Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) tripled to right to cap off the rally scoring two more runs as
Jayleen Torres (Bellflower, Calif./Downey) and Lopez scored to put the Valiants up 9-0.
With only three outs to work with to score twice before the run rule came into effect, the Falcons were finally able to scratch through to Shinstine. Angelina Ramada hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She would break up the shutout on a Davis groundout, but Shinstine held Albertus Magnus there as she ended the game with her eighth strikeout. Shinstine is now a perfect 6-0 on the season, holding a 0.85 ERA with 53 strikeouts.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 4, Albertus Magnus 0
Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) followed suit as the Game Two starter as the sophomore tossed a complete game shutout to secure the sweep.
Coming off her first win of the season on Saturday against Yeshiva, Mottoshiski threw all seven innings in the backend of Wednesday's action. She allowed just two hits while walking four and striking out three. The ground ball was Mottoshiski's bread and butter as she recorded 13 outs via groundouts.
Helping their starter, the Valiants put up a pair of runs in the first before Mottoshiski stepped into the circle. A Tansey double and a Harker single and stolen base put runners on second and third with two away. Parkes cashed in with a single to center to score both runners. The rookie has been cashing in with runners in scoring position over the last four games, driving in seven in the span.
Manhattanville added a pair of insurance runs in the third. Esparza's third extra base hit of the day plated Harker with a double before she came around to score on Walsh's two out single.
The four runs would prove to be plenty with Mottoshiski dealing. The sophomore held the Falcons hitless through three innings, and while she found trouble in the fourth with the bases loaded with only one out, Mottoshiski got a pop up and strikeout to strand all the runners and keep Albertus Magnus off the board. The Falcons would have just one base runner over the final four innings via a walk in the seventh as Mottoshiski put the finishing touches on a strong performance.
Up Next
The Valiants are back at home on Friday to host WestConn for a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader.
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