FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – In a clash of the Skyline's top two teams, the Manhattanville University softball team split a doubleheader at Farmingdale State to officially clinch the No. 1 seed for next week's Conference Championship Tournament. The Valiants end the regular season 29-9 overall and 17-1 in the Skyline, earning home-field advantage for the double-elimination finals starting on Thursday.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 1, Farmingdale 6
It was far from an ideal start to the night for Manhattanville as four Valiant errors allowed the Rams to build out to a comfortable lead.
The Rams opened the scoring with a pair of unearned runs on two hits and an error in the second inning before adding another two runs an inning later as the Valiants committed two more errors. The fielding miscues continued to plague Manhattanville as an error in the fourth resulted in two more unearned runs to come home, putting the Valiants in a 6-0 hole.
While the Valiants were able to shore up play in their final two innings in the field, holding Farmingdale to one baserunner, the deficit was far too steep for Manhattanville to fight back from. Manhattanville hit into a pair of double plays across the first four innings before being able to claw out a run in the fifth, taking advantage of Farmingdale's fielding miscue.
Emma Foster (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) dropped down a two-out bunt for a single and advanced to second as the throw to first sailed off target. The freshman scored two batters later on
Olivia Fasce's (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) single.
Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) suffered the loss despite not surrendering an earned run. The senior gave up five hits and walked one, allowing six unearned runs with four strikeouts. She falls to 14-5 on the year, with her ERA dipping to 1.54.
Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) was the lone Valiant to record multiple hits, going 2-for-3 along with a walk.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 2, Farmingdale 1
With the Rams taking the opener, the stakes for the nightcap were clear: The winner would sit atop the Skyline Conference standings.
Enter
Jori Wilkendorf (Livermore, Calif./Livermore), who rose to the occasion for one of the best pitching performances of her career. The sophomore allowed just three hits and navigated around four walks to keep the Ram offense silent, allowing the Valiant bats to bounce back from Game One's effort.
As Wilkendorf sat down the side in order in the first, the Valiants spotted their starter a lead in the second.
Rachel Coleman (Lake Forest, Calif./Mission Viejo) led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a groundout.
Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) picked up the team's first RBI as Coleman scored on a fielder's choice. Reyer was able to get up into scoring position following an error, but she would remain stranded there as the Valiants could not add on.
After another 1-2-3 inning in the second, Wilkendorf got into trouble in the third after issuing a pair of leadoff walks. The Livermore, Calif. native tight-roped out of danger with a pair of popups to get the first two outs. She would issue a third free pass to load up the bases but got an inning-ending fly out to keep the Rams off the board.
The Valiants picked up a crucial insurance run in the fifth as Foster delivered an RBI double to bring Reyer home from second to go up 2-0.
Wilkendorf navigated traffic again in the sixth to strand a pair and maintain the two-run lead. She continued to look sharp into the seventh, setting down the first two batters she faced. However, the Rams still had fight, collecting a pair of two-out singles to bring the winning run up to the plate. The Valiants elected to send Mottoshiski back to the circle to try and slam the door shut, but Bailey Hammock greeted her rudely with a single to right that scored one and put the tying run on third. With the game hanging in the balance, Mottoshiski delivered the biggest pitch sequence of the night to strike out Angelina Capuano for her third save of the year and send the road to the Skyline Championship through Purchase, N.Y.
Wilkendorf improves to 10-4 with the win, her second-longest outing of the season. Her 122 pitches marked a season-high.
Up Next
After eight games in the last four days, the Valiants earned some well-deserved down time before returning to action next week for the Skyline Championship double elimination finals. The Valiants will be joined by Farmingdale and the two teams that make it out of the first round for a three-day bracket beginning on Thursday.
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