GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – A pair of run-rule victories on Saturday pushed the Manhattanville College softball team's win streak up to 18 straight games as the Valiants swept a Skyline doubleheader against Saint Joseph's Brooklyn. The wins improve the team's overall record to 22-4 while the Valiants move to 8-0 in Skyline play.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 10, Saint Joseph's Brooklyn 0 (Five Innings)
Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) was nearly unhittable while the Valiants collected 12 hits to make quick work in the opener, taking the game via run rule in five innings.
Shinstine improved to 13-0 in the circle this year as she continues to be one of the top arms in the country. The Bears managed just one hit off the Valiant ace, a single in the second, while a pair of walks accounted for their only remaining baserunners. No Bear successfully reached third base as Shinstine needed just 73 pitches to earn the complete game shutout. She punched out six as her ERA dips back below 0.80 for the year, ranking tenth in the country at 0.79.
Before Shinstine even stepped into the circle, the Valiants gave her a two run lead.
Jayleen Torres (Bellflower, Calif./Downey) led off with a single before stealing both second and third base.
Olivia Fasce (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) brought her home with a sacrifice fly.
Sarah Harker (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) then drew a walk, coming home two batters later on
Samantha Walsh's (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) single and a Bears throwing error.
Up 2-0, Manhattanville erupted for six runs in the third to firmly take control. It would be Torres setting the table once again with a leadoff single and steal of second, scoring on a Fasce single. Four batters later,
Sydni Brooks (Anaheim, Calif./Cypress) drove in a run with a bases loaded single to right.
Juliana Parkes (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada/Belmont Secondary) drove home a pair with a double down the left field line before
Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) finished clearing the bases with a two run single, extending the lead up to 8-0.
The Valiants added their final runs across the fourth and fifth innings off RBI doubles from Brooks and
Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City). The Bears got the leadoff runner aboard on a hit by pitch in the fifth, but Shinstine retired the next three batters to bring an end to the inning and enact the run-rule victory.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 8, Saint Joseph's Brooklyn 0 (Six Innings)
The Valiants collected seven extra base hits, including homers from Esparza and Brooks, to lead the way to victory in Game Two.
After the first inning was extended on a Bears error that allowed Harker to reach, Esparza made Saint Joseph's pay with a two run blast to center field. The junior's fourth deep fly of the year once again gave the Valiants a lead before their starter threw a pitch.
It would be
Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) benefiting from the run support as she recorded her ninth-straight win. The sophomore worked around six hits in a complete game, six inning effort, striking out one. Her ERA reaches a season-low of 3.77 as she needed just 63 pitches to earn the win.
Brooks led off the second with a triple, scoring two batters later on Reyer's single. In the third, Harker hit a triple to plate Fasce before Brooks continued her great day at the plate with another RBI single, scoring Harker and putting the Valiants up 5-0.
The game went into the sixth still 5-0 before the Valiants scored three more runs. After Walsh led off with a double, Brooks put the finishing touches on her career-day with her first collegiate home run.
Melissa Lopez (Whittier, Calif./California) scored later in the inning on a Fasce bunt to push the lead to eight. Mottoshiski walked around the leadoff batter reaching on an error as her fielders gunned down a runner at third to record the first out before a 5-4-3 double play ending the inning to activate the run-rule for the second time on the day.
Up Next
The Valiants look to continue their torrid stretch tomorrow, hosting Sarah Lawrence for a doubleheader at noon.
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