NEW HAVEN, CONN. – The Manhattanville University softball team split doubleheader action on Wednesday afternoon at Albertus Magnus. After succumbing to a walkoff loss in the opener, the Valiants bounced back nicely to salvage the day with a victory in Game Two to head home from Connecticut holding a 6-4 record.

Game One Recap: Manhattanville 4, Albertus Magnus 5
An exciting final frame was the story of the opener as the Valiants rallied in their final at-bats to take the lead before the Falcons responded to walk the game off.

Trailing 3-2, a pair of walks by Emma Foster (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) and Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) coupled with a bunt single by Olivia Fasce (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) put the Valiants in position to do damage with two outs to work with. Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) stepped up with the bases loaded and smacked the ball to left field to bring Foster and Tansey home with the tying and go-ahead runs. Manhattanville was poised to add an insurance run on what appeared to be a sacrifice fly, but the Falcons successfully appealed that Fasce tagged up early and were able to bring an end to the inning down one.

The insurance-run-that-wasn't loomed large as Albertus Magnus went on a rally of their own. A pair of singles and a walk loaded up the bases for the Falcons with two away before the home side took advantage of a pair of mistakes by the Valiant battery to steal the win. A passed ball allowed Karla Carangelo to score from third before Colleen Edwards darted home two batters later on a wild pitch for the winning run.

The last inning put a damper on Emily Mottoshiski's (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) start in the circle. The senior struggled with location throughout the game, issuing a season-high six walks. She falls to 4-2 with the loss, going 6.2 innings while allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits. Despite the walks and contact given up, Mottoshiski was able to strike out a season-high of eight.

Tansey put the Valiants in front in the opening at-bat of the game, blasting her second home run of the season over the left field wall. Manhattanville went on to extend the lead in the fourth as Angelina Cruz (Oceanside, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) scored on a Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) triple.

The Falcons got on the board and took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs on a pair of hits and three walks. That would be all for the scoring until the back-and-forth in the seventh.

Cruz and Fasce both finished with two hits in the opener. Fasce, Tansey and Cady Sickler (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) each successfully stole a base in the loss.

Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 5, Albertus Magnus 2
A 4-for-4 effort at the plate by Tansey coupled with Walsh earning her first win of the year in the circle led the Valiants to picking up the split in the backend of Wednesday's action.

Stepping on the rubber for the first time in 15 days, Walsh was able to navigate the traffic on the bases to limit the Falcons to just two runs, with only one being charged as an earned run. The senior threw six innings, giving up five hits and allowing five walks while striking out six before the game was called in the top of the seventh due to darkness.

Manhattanville once again wasted little time scoring early, plating a run in the first. Tansey collected her first hit of her great game at the plate with a leadoff single and eventually came home to score on a Cruz groundout three batters later.

Albertus Magnus scratched out a run against Walsh in the bottom of the second to even things up at 1-1. It was Tansey once again being involved in giving Manhattanville back the lead an inning later. After Josie O'Leary (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) led off with a single, Tansey chased her home from first on a double to center as the Valiants never surrendered the lead from there.

A three-run fifth provided Manhattanville all the insurance they would need to secure the win. A Fasce single coupled with walks by Walsh and Cruz loaded the bags with two down. A wild pitch allowed Fasce to score before Isabel Perez (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley) collected her first collegiate hit with a two-run single, plating Cruz and Walsh to put the Valiants up 5-1.

The Falcons got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on Carangelo's RBI single, but the inning loomed to be a lot more damaging as Albertus Magnus had the bases loaded with no outs. Walsh tightroped her way out of trouble, getting a strikeout ahead of a pair of ground outs to leave three on base and keep the lead at three.

Walsh went on to strike out two in the sixth as part of a 1-2-3 frame in what would be her final inning as the game was called in the top of the seventh with the Valiants batting as the sun set on the cold New Haven night.

The four hits marked a new single-game high for Tansey, who elevated her batting average up to .478 with the performance. Fasce finished with two hits while swiping another bag, extending her hitting streak up to seven games. Liana Lara knocked a double in the fourth, the rookie's second two-bagger of the season.

Up Next
The Valiants are off to Maryland for the weekend. Manhattanville will take on Salisbury at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday ahead of a neutral-site matchup against SUNY Cortland at 1:30 p.m.

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