PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University softball win streak is up to eight games as the Valiants swept a doubleheader against Sage on Wednesday, winning both games via run-rule in five innings. Manhattanville improves to 19-7 on the year with the wins, going a perfect 6-0 during this homestand.

Game One Recap: Manhattanville 8, Sage 0 (Five Innings)
As would be the trend throughout the day, the Valiants rode dominant pitching and timely hits to a pair of run-rule victories, opening with Jori Wilkendorf's (Livermore, Calif./Livermore) gem of a start.

The junior improved to 11-3 on the year with a complete game one-hitter. Wilkendorf only walked one batter and struck out seven as she retired the first nine batters she faced.

Manhattanville's veteran starter finally faced traffic in the fourth, but navigated around an error and walk to keep the Gators scoreless. While her bid at a second no-hitter in her last three outings would come to a close with a leadoff single in the fifth, Wilkendorf got the next three outs and ended with game with her seventh punchout.

The Valiants struck for one in the bottom of the first as Sydni Brooks (Anaheim, Calif./Cypress) delivered an RBI single to score Emma Foster (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) before tacking on four more in the second. Alexa Lazur (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) drew a leadoff walk and scored on Cady Sickler's (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) double.

The scoring continued after Sickler and Breanna Ochoa (South Gate, Calif./Saint Joseph) pulled off a double steal to put two in scoring position, with the former scoring on Foster's RBI ground out to push the lead to 3-0. Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) delivered the big blow with a ball lined to right that Carmela DeMaio was unable to make a shoestring catch one. The ball rolled all the way to the wall, allowing Tansey to race all the way home with a two-run inside-the-park homer, putting Manhattanville up by five.

Manhattanville reached the run-rule margin of victory with a three-run fourth, taking advantage of a pair of Gator errors. Ochoa walked and Foster was hit by a pitch to get the frame started, with the first run scoring on Josie O'Leary's (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) single through the left side of the infield. Tansey reached on an error that allowed Foster to come home with the second run of the inning before the second misplay of the inning on Lianna Lara's (Santa Clarita, Calif./Sierra Canyon School) pinch hit brought home O'Leary for the 8-0 lead.

Sickler was the lone Valiant with multiple hits in the win, finishing 2-for-3 at the plate. Tansey collected three RBI for the third time this season and joined Ochoa and Sickler in the stolen base department.

Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 10, Sage 0 (Five Innings)
It was Tahlia Smith's (St. Helena, Calif./St. Helena) time to shine in Game Two, as the freshman was one out shy of throwing a no-hitter as she earned her sixth win of the year.

Smith retired eight-straight batters to begin the game before issuing her first walk of the day. The rookie lost her control for a bit, issuing another walk and firing two wild pitches, but was able to get Emma Heartquist to lineout to Ochoa at second to keep the pair stranded in scoring position.

Smith worked her way out of trouble again in the fourth after hitting Izabelle Ratcliffe to lead off the frame by setting down the next three batters in order. In the fifth, she struck out the first two batters of the frame before Maddie Curley came out of the Gator dugout to pinch hit, lifting a ball into shallow centerfield that fell just in front of Sickler for a base hit. Smith shrugged off the hit by getting Annalise Tyler to lineout to second to bring the game to a close.

The Valiants scored in all four innings they batted in, starting with a three-run first. After Foster and O'Leary set the table with singles and advances on a wild pitch, Tansey drove home the first run on a single to right. Tansey then swiped second, with the throw down attempt sailing into the outfield to allow O'Leary to come home with the second run. Tansey capped off the three-spot by racing home on Angelina Cruz' (Oceanside, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) ground out.

Ochoa led off the second with a triple to right to preface back-to-back RBI doubles off the bats of Foster and O'Leary to put the home side up 5-0. In the third, Foster brought home Manhattanville's sixth run on a sacrifice fly, plating Sickler.

Manhattanville continued chugging right along with four more runs in the fourth on four hits and a pair of Sage errors. The Valiants loaded the bases on a Tansey single, fielding error that allowed Bria Hospodar (Old Bethpage, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F Kennedy) to reach, and a Lara fielder's choice that resulted in no outs recorded.

Still with nobody out, Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) found the hole on the left side to score Tansey while Sickler hit a sacrifice fly out to right to allow Hospodar to score. Claire Whitman (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) drove in Reyer with a pinch-hit single before Lazur capped off the inning by beating out an infield hit to short to allow Smith to score with the team's tenth run of the game.

Foster, O'Leary, Tansey and Sickler each enjoyed two-hit games in the finale. Cruz added a double in the second to join Foster and O'Leary with a two-bagger to close out Wednesday's action.

Up Next
The Valiants make the short trip to Purchase College on Saturday for a twinbill against the Panthers starting at 11 a.m.

VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads and YouTube. #WeAreValiant #GoValiants