GALLOWAY, N.J. – The Manhattanville College softball team broke into the win column on Tuesday, splitting doubleheader action at Stockton University. After a comeback effort in Game One fell just short, the Valiants erupted for 10 runs in Game Two to win via run rule in six innings. Manhattanville improves to 1-7 on the season following the split decision.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 5, Stockton 6
A rough first inning doomed the Valiants in the opener as the team was unable to complete erase a three-run deficit against the Ospreys.
Things looked good for Manhattanville to start, with the team plating a pair of runs on three hits to begin the contest.
Olivia Fasce (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) led off the game with a single to left and advanced up to second on a groundout. That brought
Sarah Harker (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) up to the dish, who drove the ball back up the middle to plate the opening run. Harker advanced up to second as the center fielder mishandled the ball, allowing the graduate outfielder to score following an
Amaya Esparza (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills) single and
Rachel Coleman (Lake Forest, Calif./Mission Viejo) RBI fielder's choice to give Manhattanville an early 2-0 lead.
The Ospreys immediately went to work in the bottom half as Stockton scored five runs on five hits to go in front. After back-to-back RBI singles tied the game up at 2-2, Alexa Panagopoylos delivered the big blow with a three-run homer to put the home team up 5-2.
Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) would settled in following the rough first frame, allowing just one more run over the duration of the contest. The graduate pitcher fell to 0-5 with the loss, as she was charged with six earned runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out a season-high eight.
The Valiants got a run back in the third on a
Rachel Coleman (Lake Forest, Calif./Mission Viejo) single to plate Harker with her second run of the contest to move the score to 5-3. The score held steady until the fifth when Panagopoulos went yard again with a solo shot to put the Ospreys back up by three.
It would prove to be a crucial insurance run as the Valiants looked for some magic in their final at-bats. With one away, Harker singled to right to bring Esparza to the dish. The Valiant catcher drilled a ball over the centerfield fence, the Valiants' first home run of the season. Despite cutting the deficit down to one, the Valiants were unable to complete the comeback as Nerina Tramp set down the next two batters in order to finish off her complete game.
Harker finished 4-for-4 in the opener while adding a steal on the basepaths.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 10, Stockton 2 (Six Innings)
Determined to bring the season-opening losing streak to an end, Manhattanville rode a four-run first inning to a season-high 10 runs to claim its first win of the season.
Three hits, a pair of Osprey errors and a walk led to Manhattanville's crooked number in the opening frame. A Fasce walk and single by
Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) had a runner in scoring position early. Harker put the ball in play with a grounder to the left side that couldn't be fielded by the Stockton shortstop, allowing Fasce to cross the plate. Esparza loaded up the bases with a single, allowing Coleman to deliver an RBI single and
Alexa Lazur (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) to plate a run on a sacrifice fly. One more run would cross on a fielding error as
Samantha Reyer's (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) grounder was unable to be corralled at second base, allowing Coleman to cross and put Manhattanville up 4-0.
Handed an early lead,
Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) handled business in the circle to pick up the team's first win of the season. The junior scattered two runs (one earned) across her six innings of work, allowing seven hits in the outing. Mottoshiski did not issue a single free pass while retiring four via punchout.
The Ospreys got on the board in the second on a Regan Mendick RBI single, but Manhattanville reestablished its four run lead in the following frame. Stockton's defensive woes hindered them again, as a Mottoshiski grounder was misplayed to allow Coleman to score and put the Valiants up 5-1.
Harker added a sacrifice fly RBI in the fourth to score Fasce. Stockton got a run back in the bottom half on Madison Manera's run-scoring single before the Valiants flexed their muscles. In the fifth, Reyer drilled a three-run homer to right to score Lazur and Coleman before Esparza went deep for the second time on the day with a solo blast in the sixth to put the Valiants up 10-2. With run rule victory in sight, Mottoshiski set down the three Ospreys in order in the bottom of the sixth to pick up the win.
Up Next
The Valiants head to New Haven tomorrow for a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Albertus Magnus.
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