How We Got Here
Familiar territory for Manhattanville and Farmingdale, the Skyline softball powerhouses nabbed the top two seeds for a fifth-straight tournament. Unsurprising, each of the last five Skyline titles have been split amongst the two programs, with Manhattanville serving as back-to-back champs in 2023 and 2024. The Valiants and Rams appropriately closed out the regular season against one another, splitting the doubleheader as Manhattanville clinched the No. 1 seed with a 2-1 win in Game Two on Friday. The win brought the Valiants' final record in conference play to 17-1 for a second-consecutive year.

Since 2023, Manhattanville has gone a remarkable 59-3 against Skyline Conference opponents. The three losses? All against Farmingdale.

The Valiants have once again found success in their pitching, with three arms sporting sub-2.50 ERAs. Emily Mottoshiski (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills) has been the workhorse of the staff this year, excelling as Manhattanville's top arm. The senior went 15-5 in the regular season with a 1.53 ERA across 132.1 innings. Sophomore Jori Wilkendorf (Livermore, Calif./Livermore) has also put up solid numbers, going 10-4 with a 2.42 ERA, with a 0.91 ERA in conference play. While playing primarily second base, Samantha Walsh (Spring City, Pa./Owen J Roberts) has also excelled in the circle, posting a 1.17 ERA in 24 innings of work.

On the topic of Walsh, the senior leads all qualified batters on the team with a .423 average this season. Mottoshiski and Rachel Coleman (Lake Forest, Calif./Mission Viejo) join her with .400-plus batting averages, while the Valiants as a whole are the Skyline's top slugging team, leading the way in doubles and home runs to a .555 slugging percentage. The Valiant roster features seven total All-Conference selections, with Angelina Cruz (Oceanside, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista), Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside), Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) and Olivia Fasce (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) joining the aforementioned trio of Mottoshiski, Walsh and Coleman.

Farmingdale secured the No. 2 seed with a 15-3 conference mark, getting swept by Saint Joseph's Long Island on Apr. 25 before the split with Manhattanville last week. The Rams feature an ace of their own in the form of one Madison DeMaio. DeMaio was named both conference Rookie and Pitcher of the Year, sporting a 2.19 ERA with a 19-7 ERA across a league-high 162.2 innings. The Rams also loaded the All-Conference teams, sending seven other players to earn conference nods alongside DeMaio.

Joining the Valiants and Rams in the bracket are the two winners of Wednesday's first round contests. Fourth-seeded Mount Saint Mary is making the trip to Purchase on Thursday following their win over No. 5 Saint Joseph's Long Island. The Knights saw a 7-0 lead slip away in the seventh inning after a furious comeback by the Golden Eagles but were able to right the ship in extras with a walk-off 8-7 win.

No. 3 Old Westbury rounds out the finalists after the Panthers handled business against No. 6 Mount Saint Vincent, 7-0. The Panthers head to Farmingdale on Thursday evening to kick off the other half of the finals after Old Westbury eliminated the Rams in the 2024 Championship Tournament.

Looking Ahead
What was originally slated to be a Thursday-Friday-Saturday tournament held exclusively at Manhattanville has been retooled multiple times given this weekend's poor weather forecast. In an effort to avoid the impending rainstorms, the first day of play has been split between Manhattanville and Farmingdale's campuses. Action will resume on Saturday, with both Saturday and Sunday's games currently planned to be played at Manhattanville. In the event Manhattanville's field is not in a playable condition, all games for the day will be shifted to Farmingdale, with Manhattanville still serving as the tournament's official hosts.

Regular Season Meetings:

Team Leaders
Manhattanville