PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University softball team split doubleheader action on Sunday afternoon in a battle of the top two teams in the Skyline Conference as the Valiants played host to Farmingdale. After taking the opener 2-1, Manhattanville's 24-game winning streak came to an end as the Rams split the series with a 12-7 win. The Valiants enter the new week sitting at 24-8 overall and 13-1 in Skyline Conference play.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 2, Farmingdale 1
The Valiants gained the upper hand in the opening pitching duel with a two-run fourth inning, proving to be just enough for Manhattanville to secure a 24
th-straight victory.
With just three total hits combined by the two teams through the first three and a half innings, the Valiants broke the scoreless tie with the first runs of the day.
Rachel Coleman (Lake Forest, Calif./Mission Viejo) led off what was the pivotal frame with a double.
Juliana Parkes (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada/Belmont Secondary) stepping into the box next, grounding a comebacker right to the circle to Farmingdale pitcher Allie Stanya. Stanya tried to get the advancing Coleman out at third, but her throw sailed high, allowing the Valiant first baseman to score from third. Two batters later,
Alexa Lazur (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) skied a double to left field to plate Parkes with the second run of the game.
The insurance run loomed large as the Rams scratched out a response run in the top of the fifth. With two away, Jenna Giliberti singled up the middle and stole second base. Bailey Hammock dropped a single in to left, with the speedy Giliberti looking to score on the play. The relay throw was in time, but obstruction was called on the play, allowing the Farmingdale outfielder to slash their deficit in half.
Hammock threatened to tie the game up as the inning progressed, reaching third on a wild pitch. However,
Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) got a clutch out by getting Angelina Capuano to fly out and maintain the lead.
Shinstine rose to the challenge against one of the top teams she has faced in her recent stretch, allowing just the one unearned run in her seven inning complete game. The graduate pitcher surrendered three hits and walked four but used 10 strikeouts to find her way out of trouble when the basepaths got crowded. In the fourth inning, the Rams loaded the bases with just one out, but Shinstine held Farmingdale off the board with back-to-back strikeouts to escape.
Shinstine improved to 11-5 on the year with the win, lowering her ERA down to 1.51 on the season. While her shutout streak came to an end at 61 consecutive innings, she still has not allowed an earned run since March 26, a span of 12-straight starts.
The Valiants tallied five hits in the win, all of which were doubles.
Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) and
Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) joined Parkes, Coleman and Lazur with two-baggers in the win.
Game Two: Manhattanville 7, Farmingdale 12
A far cry from the pitching masterclass of game one, the teams combined for 19 totals runs and 11 errors in the backend of the doubleheader, with the Rams maintaining a share of first place in the conference with the twinbill split.
Farmingdale got off to a quick start with a two-run first and another run in the second to stake claim to a 3-0 lead. Manhattanville responded in the bottom half with three hits and a pair of Ram fielding miscues to score five runs of their own. The Valiant rally began with two outs when Samantha Reye singled to right and Lazur drew a walk.
Olivia Fasce (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) got the home team on the board with a double to left center, cutting the deficit down to two runs with a pair in scoring position. Tansey rolled over one to short that slipped under the glove of the Rams' Capuano, allowing both runners to score and tie the game up. The inning continued after Walsh reached on a dropped third strike and throwing error, bringing
Sarah Harker (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) up with another two runners in scoring position. The graduate delivered with a single to center, clearing the bases and putting the Valiants up 5-3.
Things settled down for a moment with a scoreless third inning, but the Rams pieced together their own five-run frame in the fourth on four hits and a pair of Manhattanville errors. By the time the dust settled, the Rams were back in front 8-5.
After Farmingdale plated another unearned run in the fifth following the Valiants' fourth error of the game, Manhattanville attempted to claw back with a run in both the fifth and sixth innings. After Harker reached as a result of a leadoff error,
Amaya Esparza (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills) brought the Valiants back within three with a double. Despite getting a runner to third with one away, the Valiants couldn't tack on in the fifth. The home squad did inch closer in the sixth as another Ram error allowed Fasce to score after Harker put the ball in play that was mishandled by Ava Shorr in the circle, cutting the deficit down to 9-7 entering the final frame.
The comeback effort would stall out there, as the Rams added three more runs in the top of the seventh on Anna Rahner's three-run home run. Manhattanville coupled together a pair of hits in the bottom half but couldn't extend the game, suffering their first loss in two months.
Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) suffered the loss, falling to 10-2 on the season. The junior went 3.1 innings and gave up eight runs (six earned) on nine hits and a pair of walks, striking out one.
Jori Wilkendorf (Livermore, Calif./Livermore) tossed the final 3.2 innings in relief, allowing four unearned runs on seven hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts.
Harker and Reyer finished with a pair of hits in the loss.
Up Next
The Valiants celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, hosting Old Westbury for a doubleheader starting at noon.
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