SALISBURY, Md. – Let's dance! A few days removed from winning its 13^th conference title in program history, the Manhattanville University softball team is in Maryland to compete in the 2024 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament. The Valiants make a school-record 11^th NCAA Tournament appearance starting today at the Salisbury Regional. Manhattanville drew host Salisbury for its first matchup, which enters the tournament carrying a No. 5 national ranking. Joining the Valiants and Sea Gulls in the regional are No. 11 Randolph-Macon and Eastern University, who will square off in the other opening contest in the double-elimination bracket.

Softball Preview: Manhattanville University vs No. 5 Salisbury University | Eastern University vs No. 11 Randolph-Macon College | NCAA Division III Softball Tournament Regional Round | Hosted by Salisbury University | May 16-18 | Live Stats | Video | Tournament Bracket | Regional Central

How We Got Here

The Valiants punched their ticket to the tourney after winning the team's second-straight Skyline Conference crown after a perfect 3-0 conference championship tournament run. Second-seeded Manhattanville defeated Saint Joseph's Brooklyn and Farmingdale to get to the title game which saw the Valiants earn a 10-1 win over Old Westbury to claim the crown with a 31-10 record overall.

Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after pitching all 17 innings of the Conference Championship, allowing just two earned runs in the three games while striking out 21. The graduate arm, fresh off being named the Skyline Pitcher of the Year, carries a 1.44 ERA into the NCAA Tournament.

Looking to provide Shinstine and company run support is the nation's top-scoring offense, entering the tournament with 8.61 runs scored per game. Sarah Harker (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) has served as the team's leading producer all season with 57 RBI and 52 runs scored while hitting .546 as she earned her second-straight Skyline Conference Player of the Year nod. While held in check over the first two games of the conference tournament, Harker showed out in the championship game with a 3-for-4 effort, driving in four runs with a home run and a triple.

The offense also features five other bats that were named All-Conference selections. Joining Harker and Shinstine on the First Team were catcher Amaya Esparza (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills), second baseman Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) and designated player Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City), while first baseman Rachel Coleman (Lake Forest, Calif./Mission Viejo) and shortstop Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) earned appointment on Second Team following their performances all season long.

Opposing the Valiants on Thursday is fourth-ranked Salisbury, with the Sea Gulls coming off a runner-up finish in last year's NCAA Tournament. This season, Salisbury carries a 36-5 overall record into the tournament after earning an at-large bid after being ranked all season but falling to Christopher Newport in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference finals. The Sea Gulls were ranked as the top team in the nation by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for three weeks last month as part of a 29-game winning streak that spanned from mid-March to the closing days of April.

Also joining the Valiants down in the Old Line State are No. 11 Randolph-Macon and Eastern. Randolph-Macon earned an at-large bid out of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, going 31-5-2 on the season entering Thursday. The Yellow Jackets were knocked out of the ODAC Tournament with a pair of losses to Roanoke, but were dominant with an impressive resume during the regular season to earn an invite to Salisbury. Meanwhile, Eastern will be making its inaugural NCAA Tournament appearance after the Eagles won the MAC Commonwealth title on Saturday with a 5-1 win over York in the championship.

History

The Valiants are in Salisbury for the third time this season after opening the 2024 campaign in the Margie Knight Invitational on March 16-17 before returning a week later to square off with the Sea Gulls which carried a No. 2 national ranking at the team. Salisbury swept the Valiants in the Mar. 22 doubleheader, winning 14-2 and 8-0 in a pair of five inning contests.

The losses dropped Manhattanville to 2-9 all-time against Salisbury, with their last win coming in the previous matchup between the two teams in a doubleheader split back in 2018. All 11 previous meetings took place in Salisbury.

Depending on how Thursday's action plays out, the Valiants will either square off against a former MAC foe for the 26^th time in program history or take on a Randolph-Macon squad that they haven't shared a field with since 2018. It has been five years since Manhattanville last met Eastern on the field, but the Valiants held the upper hand in the series when the teams were linking up for conference doubleheaders in the MAC. Manhattanville is 20-5 all-time against the Eagles and have won each of the last eight meetings dating back to 2016. Meanwhile, the Valiants have only previously played the Yellow Jackets twice, a pair of losses in 2017 and 2018 in neutral-site matchups in Virginia Beach.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Batting Average: Harker (.546), Esparza (.427), Tansey (.418)
• Runs Batted In: Harker (57), Esparza (38), Reyer (31)
• Earned Run Average: Shinstine (1.44), Mottoshiski (2.67)
• Strikeouts: Shinstine (179), Mottoshiski (58), Wilkendorf (20)

Salisbury

• Batting Average: Mace (.484), Challender (.429), Reed (.403)
• Runs Batted In: Mace (51), Paoli (35), Jacoby (31)
• Earned Run Average: Ortega (1.28), Adolfson (1.64), Purdy (2.30)
• Strikeouts: Ortega (67), Purdy (51), Adolfson (40)

Randolph-Macon

• Batting Average: Lanyon (.441), Sadler (.398), Owens (.377)
• Runs Batted In: Baughan (39), Davis (34), Owens (21)
• Earned Run Average: Ellis (1.14), Baughan (2.20)
• Strikeouts: Ellis (176), Baughan (91)

Eastern

• Batting Average: O'Donnell (.363), Hook (.361), Binczak (.336)
• Runs Batted In: Ostolaza (28), Long (25), Hook (22)
• Earned Run Average: Barthol (0.50), Long (2.60), Clifford (3.16)
• Strikeouts: Barthol (138), Long (38), Clifford (14)

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