NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College softball team pushed their win streak up to 12 straight on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep against Skyline Conference foe Mount Saint Mary. The Valiants climb to 16-4 overall and improve to 4-0 in conference action.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 7, Mount Saint Mary 4
A pair of crooked number innings led the Valiants to victory in the opener.
Mount Saint Mary threatened in the second, loading the bases with just one out, but
Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) got a strikeout and fly out to escape unscathed. The Valiants then went on the offensive with four runs on three hits in the top of the third.
Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) reached on a lead off error, stealing second and advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt. The rookie would cross the plate as the game's first run on
Jayleen Torres' (Bellflower, Calif./Downey) RBI single. After
Olivia Fasce (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) reached on an infield single,
Sarah Harker (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) cleared the bases with a two-run single. Harker would score two batters later off
Samantha Walsh's (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) sacrifice fly, putting the Valiants up 4-0.
The Knights loaded the bases again the bottom half, and would not leave the frame empty handed this time around. Alicia Killeen earned an RBI the painful way, getting hit by a pitch to bring home a run. Shinstine held Mount Saint Mary to the lone run as she survived another treacherous situation with only minimum damaged.
Manhattanville found insurance in the sixth, scoring three runs on three hits and a Knight error. After Walsh and
Juliana Parkes (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada/Belmont Secondary) reached on leadoff singles and pulled off a successful double steal, both runners came around to score on an error by the Mount Saint Mary first baseman. Torres added an RBI single to score Cadi Sickler to put the Valiants up 7-1.
Down by six, the Knights continued to battle in the seventh. Mount Saint Mary scratched out three runs on three hits as Samantha Bendig drove in a run before Riley Norwood drilled a two-run single. The comeback effort would halt there as Shinstine got Sofia Gannon to ground out to end the game.
After dominating lineups all season long, Shinstine surrendered a season-high four runs (three earned) on six hits, the most any team has recorded against her this year. The senior pitcher also issued four free passes, but was able to strikeout five to keep the Knights at bay and improve to 10-0 in the circle on the year.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 4, Mount Saint Mary 1
Some late timely hits allowed the Valiants to keep their win streak intact, coming back from a 1-0 hole in the third inning.
With neither offense getting much done through the first two and a half innings, the Knights scratched out a run in the bottom of the third to take their first lead of the day. Norwood set the table with a leadoff walk, advancing to second on a ground out before stealing third. Jenna Cedeno struck out swinging on a wild pitch from
Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills), allowing Norwood to score and Cedeno to reach first. Mottoshiski bounced back with a pair of quick ground outs to keep the Knights' lead at a single run.
The Valiants got their first two hits of the game in the fourth and would finally break through a inning later. Torres singled to left with one away and put herself into scoring position with steals of second and third base. Fasce dropped down a bunt single to plate Torres with the tying run and reach to get another runner aboard. Fasce scored three batters later as Walsh found a gap in the left side of the infield with a single to put the Valiants up 2-1.
Manhattanville added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the sixth. After
Sydni Brooks (Anaheim, Calif./Cypress) was hit a by a pitch to begin the inning,
Melissa Lopez (Whittier, Calif./California) drilled a double down the right field line. Brooks scored on the play, but Lopez was gunned down at third trying to stretch the double into a three-bagger. Torres made up for the out as she laced a triple to left center, advancing home on an error by the Knights that put the Valiants up 4-1.
Mottoshiski did not give up a hit over the final three innings, with the Knights' only baserunners coming as a result of Valiant errors. No Mount Saint Mary runner advanced past first base after the fourth inning as Mottoshiski got dialed in. The sophomore's final statline was one earned run on five hits and a walk, striking out three in her complete game effort. She improves to 6-4 overall with a 4.84 ERA on the season.
Up Next
The Valiants head home for Sunday action tomorrow, hosting Saint Joseph's Long Island for a twinbill beginning at noon.
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