LA VERNE, Calif. – It was a third-straight doubleheader split for the Manhattanville College softball team on Wednesday as the Valiants continued their road trip through California at La Verne. Manhattanville took the opener with the Leopards 2-0 before falling in the finale by a final of 3-0. The Valiants move to 3-3 overall on the young season.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 2, La Verne 0
For the third time in as many starts,
Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) dominated in the circle as the senior pitcher flirted with history on Wednesday in the opener. The California native had her best outing of the young season as she carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. The Leopards would finally get a base hit to lead off the frame, breaking up Shinstine's bid for the fifth no-no of her career. Despite coming just short of the no-hitter, Shinstine would finish with a line of seven innings, one hit allowed, two walks and six strikeouts. She has now gone the distance in all three starts this season.
As Shinstine was dealing, the Valiants' first inning run would ultimately prove to be enough to secure the win in Wednesday's opener. Manhattanville put together a two-out rally as
Sarah Harker (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) reached on a single to right before coming home on
Amaya Esparza's (Descanso, Calif./Granite Hills) double in the following at-bat. Coming off her Skyline Player of the Week nod, Esparza's RBI was her team-leading fourth this season.
The Valiants plated an insurance run in the sixth as
Jayleen Torres (Bellflower, Calif./Downey) put her speed on full display. The senior beat out a single to short and would steal both second and third to put herself in scoring position.
Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) cashed in with the runner on third, brining home Torres with an RBI double.
Marissa Acosta played spoiler for the Leopards as her leadoff single to left opened up the seventh to put an end to Shinstine's no-hit bid. Unrattled, the senior got a fly out ahead of a game-ending double play to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 1, La Verne 3
A seventh inning rally for the Valiants fell just shorts as the Leopards' Rachel Rubio held Manhattanville's bats in check to take the doubleheader split.
The Valiants entered the final inning trailing 3-0, having collected just three hits up to that point. With one away, Harker singled and advanced up to second on a wild pitch. The senior advanced to third on Esparza's ground out as Manhattanville went down to their final out.
Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) brought Harker home with a single before
Juliana Parkes (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada/Belmont Secondary) reached as the tying run with an infield single of her own. The rally would draw to a close there, however, as Rubio got a ground ball to escape the inning and secure the win for La Verne.
After a pair of rough outings to begin the season,
Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) pitched well against the Leopards in her start. The sophomore opened up the contest with a pair of scoreless innings before finding trouble in the third. Haylee Hsieh hit a one-out double and came around to score on a Taylor Gray single. The Valiants almost got out of the inning with the lone run being the only blemish, but a Torres error prolonged the inning and allowed Gray to score to put La Verne up 2-0.
Mottoshiski's start came to an end in the fourth after she issued a pair of walks and a single to load up the bases with one out. Shinstine was tabbed to navigate the high-pressure spot as she was greeted by a Hsieh single that brought home the third run of the game for the Leopards. The Valiants were able to gun down Isabela Ramirez at third on the play while Shinstine got a strikeout two batters later to hold the damage to just one run.
Mottoshiski's final line was three runs (two earned) on three hits and four walks in 3.1 innings, striking out one. Shinstine pitched the final 2.2 innings, allowing a pair of hits and striking out four more batters.
Parkes went 3-for-3 in Game Two while adding a stolen base. Harker would finish the game with two hits of her own.
Up Next
Next on the road trip itinerary is Orange, California as the Valiants play a pair at Chapman tomorrow starting at 5 p.m. EST.
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