PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University softball team opened the final week of the regular season on Monday afternoon by pushing its win streak up to 18 with a doubleheader sweep of Mount Saint Mary. The Valiants sit at 29-7 with four games left to play, improving to 16-0 against the Skyline Conference.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 5, Mount Saint Mary 0
Jori Wilkendorf (Livermore, Calif./Livermore) silenced the Knights, holding Mount Saint Mary to just two hits in a complete game shutout to take the opener.
Wilkendorf improved to 16-3 on the season with her ninth complete game shutout of the year, dipping her ERA down to 1.79. The junior walked just one while striking out seven, as the Knights could not get a runner past first base against the Valiant starter.
As Wilkendorf dealt, the Valiants had equal struggles against Grace MacDonald over the first three innings. Manhattanville was held to two hits through the opening three frames, keeping the game scoreless entering the fourth. Wilkendorf retired the Knights in order in the top of the frame to send the game to the bottom half. Leading off,
Josie O'Leary (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) rolled one back to the circle the MacDonald bobbled to put a runner on with the error. O'Leary made sure to make it count, stealing second and coming home on
Angelina Cruz' (Oceanside, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) double to break the scoreless tie.
Working in front, Wilkendorf rebounded from a leadoff single in the fifth to get the next three out in order, striking out a pair. The Valiants broke the game open with a big inning, scoring four runs on three hits a pair of Knight errors. With one away,
Alexa Lazur (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) blooped a single to shallow left and escaped a rundown by safely advancing to second. That brought up
Breanna Ochoa (South Gate, Calif./Saint Joseph), who hit a chopper back to MacDonald. The Knights' pitcher spiked the throw to first, allowing Lazur to score and Ochoa to advance to second. Manhattanville went up 3-0 on an
Emma Foster (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) double that scored Ochoa.
O'Leary would benefit from another error after singling to center. Foster scored from second on the play, and as O'Leary attempted to advance to second on the throw, the Knights threw the ball back into the outfield, allowing the sophomore to score to put Manhattanville up 5-0.
Wilkendorf retired the final nine batters she faced in order to secure the win, ending the seventh with three-straight groundouts.
Cruz went 2-for-3, with both hits being doubles. Lazur also enjoyed a two-hit game in the opening win.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 9, Mount Saint Mary 3
A phenomenal relief outing by
Hyli De Los Santos (Tustin, Calif./Irvine) coupled with the Valiants scoring in five of their six innings at the plate led Manhattanville to the doubleheader sweep.
Manhattanville went up 4-0 through the first two innings. Foster led off the bottom of the first with a single, advanced to second on O'Leary's groundout, swiped third and scored on an error on the throw down. Foster would drive in the second run of the game an inning later on a bases loaded ground out to bring home Lazur before O'Leary plated a pair in the form of
Tahlia Smith (St. Helena, Calif./St. Helena) and Ochoa on a single.
With the offense clicking, it looked like the Valiants were set up beautifully for another stress-free victory. However, the Knights led off the third with a single and a reach on error before Chloe Graham crushed a ball over the right field wall for a three-run homer. The home run marked the first runs scored against Valiant pitching in 25 innings.
Now with life, Mount Saint Mary would load up the bases on a single and a pair of walks. With the inning on the brink of spiraling out of control, De Los Santos was called upon out of the pen to face Angela Christopher. After an eight pitch at-bat, De Los Santos won the battle with a fly out to right, stranding the bases loaded.
De Los Santos allowed just one hit throughout her relief appearance, going 4.1 total innings to improve to 3-1 on the season. The sophomore struck out three and navigated a pair of walks and has now fired four consecutive scoreless outings.
The Valiants responded to the Knights' big inning by getting a run back in the bottom half as
Cady Sickler (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) doubled home Samatha Reyer. De Los Santos retired the side in order in the fourth to get the Manhattanville bats back up quickly, as the pitcher led off the inning with an infield single. The Valiants would load up the bases on just three pitches, as Ochoa singled up the middle and Foster was hit by a pitch. O'Leary plated the lead runner with a sacrifice fly before Cruz brought home two with a double as the Valiants took an 8-3 lead.
Manhattanville added one more insurance run in the sixth on another RBI double from Cruz to bring home
Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) from first.
Smith would not factor into the decision for the Valiants in the start, allowing three runs (two earned) in 2.2 innings. The rookie gave up four hits and walked three but was still able to strike out six.
Cruz, Tansey and Lazur each had a pair of hits in Game Two, with both of Lazur's hits going for two bases just like Cruz. Tansey also stole a base in the third.
Up Next
Manhattanville plays its final non-conference games on Tuesday, headed to Springfield for a 3 p.m. doubleheader.
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