PURCHASE, N.Y. – It was a successful day for the Manhattanville College softball team on Friday, as the Valiants smashed two home runs and had a pair of strong performances to sweep Western Connecticut State University. The two wins extends Manhattanville's winning streak to six, improving the team's record to 10-4 overall on the season.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 5, WestConn 1
The Western Connecticut State Wolves would take the lead in the top of the first as Benni Tucci would reach home off a Manhattanville fielding and throwing error. The Valiants would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom half as
Sarah Harker (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) would double to right field, allowing
Juliana Parkes (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada/Belmont Secondary) to score.
Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) would follow up with a single through the left side to bring Harker around the diamond and on her way home. The Valiants would lead 2-1 going into the second inning.
Manhattanville would hold WestConn from scoring the rest of the game as the Valiants would score some insurance runs. In the bottom of the second, Parkes would hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring
Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) home for a 3-1 lead.
Both teams would go scoreless through the third and fourth inning. In the bottom of the fifth, WestConn's pitcher Hailey Golembiew threw a wild pitch to allow Parkes to come home from third. To round out scoring on the day, Parkes would single to the pitcher and bring
Olivia Fasce (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) home for the 5-1 win.
Parkes would lead the Valiants offensively with two runs on three hits, while
Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) would dominate on the mound for the Valiants. She recorded 18 strikeouts to tie her own single-game record from last season. She only gave up one unearned run on two hits and currently sits with a 0.70 ERA on the season after another dominant performance.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 11, West Conn 5
The Valiants' offense exploded as game two began. Esparza would get Manhattanville on the board with a three-run home run to start it off.
Madison Gonzales (Azusa, Calif./Sacred Heart) would then single to second base where everyone would advance, and Walsh would come home for a 4-0 lead heading into the second inning.
In the bottom of the second, Esparza would single to the shortstop, advancing the bases and bringing
Jayleen Torres (Bellflower, Calif./Downey) home as
Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) would get walked bringing in another run. Reyer would then get her first collegiate home run, a grand slam to give the Valiants a 10-0 lead going into the third inning.
The Wolves would then get on the board as Amber Roggendor would respond with a home run herself. Rachel Ushka would hit a triple and bring in two runs to bring the score to 10-3.
Manhattanville would be held scoreless through the fourth as WestConn would try to make a comeback in the fifth as Roggendor would single up the middle as Jada Miconi would head home. Sydney Chenoweth would later steal second and on the throw, Jordan Carbone would score for a 10-5 game going into the bottom of the inning. Parkes would single to left center sending Torres around the bases to score. Both teams would go scoreless through the sixth and seventh inning, securing a 11-5 Manhattanville win.
Parkes would once again have two runs on three hits which is a dominant day for the no. 2 batter, while Esparza would finish with two runs on two hits in the clean up position.
Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) would pitch the first five innings of game two, striking out five and surrendering five runs on nine hits. Shinstine would pitch the remaining two innings with three strikeouts and only one hit for the Wolves.
Up Next
The Valiants will now take on NYU in a nonconference doubleheader next Wednesday starting at 4 p.m. at the College of Staten Island Softball Complex.
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