SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Wrapping up non-conference play for the 2026 season, the Manhattanville University softball team split a doubleheader at Springfield College on Tuesday afternoon. The Valiants bounced back from a 5-2 loss in the opener to take Game Two over the Pride, 6-3. The split decision moves Manhattanville to 30-8 overall, the Valiants' fourth-straight 30-win season.
Game One Recap: Manhattanville 2, Springfield 5
The Valiants saw their 18-game win streak snapped in the doubleheader opener, unable to bounce back from an early five run deficit in the second inning.
The Pride hit
Jori Wilkendorf (Livermore, Calif./Livermore) in the opening frames, scoring twice in the first before hanging three more on the board in the second. The junior arm settled in afterwards, tossing four more scoreless innings. She weaved her way out of a bases loaded jam in the third without any more damage and continued to hold Springfield in check the rest of the way home.
Wilkendorf fell to 16-4 overall with the loss, going six innings and surrendering 12 hits with four walks. She did not record a strikeout for the first time since March 14 against Carnegie Mellon.
Manhattanville was held without a baserunner until the sixth inning when
Cady Sickler (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) drew a leadoff walk. The Valiants' first hit wouldn't come until the seventh, when
Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) broke up the no-hitter with one out with a single after a nine pitch at-bat.
The Valiants finally solved Amelia DeRosa after the Tansey hit as
Angelina Cruz (Oceanside, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) hit a ground-rule double to put a pair in scoring position. Tansey was gunned down trying to score on
Johanna Granillo's (Reseda, Calif./Cleveland) fielder's choice, but the Valiants broke up the shutout with back-to-back RBI singles by
Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) and
Cady Sickler (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston). The Valiants brought the tying run up to the plate, but Manhattanville's comeback bid fell short as DeRosa got the final out to secure the win.
Game Two Recap: Manhattanville 6, Springfield 3
Manhattanville came back in the finale, thanks to a strong outing from
Tahlia Smith (St. Helena, Calif./St. Helena) in the circle.
After taking a no decision in her last outing on Monday against Mount Saint Mary, Smith went the distance against the Pride. The rookie threw six shutout innings before being tagged for three runs in the seventh, holding on for the win. Smith allowed eight hits and walked four while striking out five.
Smith and Julia Rimshnick matched each other through the first two innings before the Valiants erupted for a four-run third. A
Josie O'Leary (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) single and Cruz walk put a pair on with two outs. Granillo delivered a bases-clearing double to put the Valiants in front. Reyer continued the inning with a single before Sickler drove in another two runs with a single to center field to push the lead to 4-0.
The Valiants tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the fifth. After a Cruz single and Reyer walk, Sickler and
Alexa Lazur (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) hit back-to-back RBI singles to put Manhattanville up by six.
Springfield took a page out of the Valiants' book in the seventh, staging a comeback bid after being held scoreless through the start of the game. With two out, DeRosa laced a two-run triple to put the Pride on the board. A walk and a single plated one more and brought Carissa Pecchia to the plate as the tying run, but Smith got her to roll a grounder out to short that was fielded cleanly by Reyer to get the final out.
After the bats were held in check for most of the opener, O'Leary, Tansey, Sickler and Lazur all enjoyed two-hit games in the finale. Lazur hit a double to join Granillo as the lone extra base hits of the affair, while Cruz and Smith each stole a base.
Up Next
The Valiants close out the regular season on Friday, returning home to host Old Westbury at noon.
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