SALISBURY, Md. – The Manhattanville University softball team wrapped up a 4-2 stretch down in Maryland on Sunday, splitting its final two games of the 2026 Margie Knight Classic. The Valiants defeated NYU for a second-straight day in the opener before falling in a tight contest to Lynchburg to close out the three-day tournament.

Game One Recap: Manhattanville 6, NYU 4
After wrapping up Day Two's action with a 10-2 run-rule win over NYU yesterday, the Valiants and Violets squared off again to begin the final day's festivities.

Freshman Tahlia Smith (St. Helena, Calif./St. Helena) earned her first collegiate win, tossing a complete game in the circle. The rookie worked around nine hits and four walks, allowing just two earned runs (four total) while striking out three.

Manhattanville started quickly as Emma Foster (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) laced a leadoff double, scoring two batters later on Isabella Tansey's (San Diego, Calif./University City) groundout. The lead held until the second when NYU responded with an RBI single off the bat of Victoria Katilius to tie things at 1-1 entering the third.

The teams traded runs in the third frame, with the Valiants striking in the top half as Breanna Ochoa (South Gate, Calif./Saint Joseph High School) scored on an error after her leadoff single before a Manhattanville miscue led to a Violet unearned run in the bottom half. The score remained 2-2 into the fifth, when the Valiants hung four runs on the board to take the final lead of the morning.

Cady Sickler (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) and Ochoa lead off with back-to-back singles to set the table and force NYU to make a pitching change. A passed ball put both runners in scoring position, allowing Foster to great the new arm of Jessie Werthman with a two-run single to break the tie. Manhattanville would tack on two more runs as Foster and Alexa Lazur (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) scored later in the inning, putting the Valiants up 6-2.

Manhattanville would ultimately need the two extra insurance runs as NYU scratched out a run in both the fifth and sixth innings. The Violets went on a two-out rally in the bottom half of the Valiants' big inning, using a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases. Katilius came through with another RBI single, but Smith was able to limit the damage to the lone run, getting Carly Nelson to sky out to center and leave the bases loaded.

An Emma Sung sacrifice fly in the sixth plated the Violets' final run of the day, but NYU once again threatened in the seventh. A hit-by-pitch, single and walk loaded the bases with one out, putting the winning run on first. Smith once again settled in with the traffic surrounding her, setting the next two batters down to close out the win.

Foster, Sickler and Ochoa each finished with two hits in the win.

Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 2, Lynchburg 3
The Valiants closed out the trip with the team's first meeting against Lynchburg since the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

A pitching duel throughout, the Hornets took advantage of Manhattanville's four errors to eek out a 3-2 win.

Scoreless through one, Lynchburg opened the scoring in the second as Hailey Schildt drew a leadoff walk against Jori Wilkendorf (Livermore, Calif./Livermore), scoring two batters later after being moved over on a sacrifice bunt before scoring from second on Sydney Bryant's single.

The Hornets added an unearned run in the fourth before the Valiant bats mounted a response in the bottom half. With a pair on with one away, Lazur doubled to center to score Sydni Brooks (Anaheim, Calif./Cypress) and Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) with the tying runs.

Errors once again came back to bite Manhattanville in the fifth as Layla Lietzan was able to reach and later score following a pair of misplays. The Valiants looked poised to once again fight back in the bottom of the frame as Foster led off with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball, but Kate Charlton was able to get the next three batters to roll over on grounders to leave the tying run stranded at third. Charlton retired the last nine batters she faced in order, eight via the groundout, to close out her win in the circle.

Wilkendorf dropped to 3-2 on the year with the loss, being tagged for three runs (one earned) on seven hits. She also issued a pair of walks while striking out two.

Josie O'Leary (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) and Lazur both went 2-for-3 at the plate.

Up Next
The Valiants take a brief reprieve from Maryland before heading back to Salisbury next weekend when the team returns to New York to take on Yeshiva to open conference play on Thursday, opening the doubleheader against the Maccabees at 6 p.m.

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