The road to the Skyline Conference Softball Championship has brought four teams to Purchase. After going 18-0 against the conference in the regular season, the Manhattanville University softball team earned the No. 1 seed and hosting privileges for the duration of the three-day double elimination tournament. Taking up temporary residency in town are the defending champs and second-seeded Farmingdale, alongside No. 3 Mount Saint Mary and No. 5 Old Westbury, a pair of programs looking to end a collective six-season reign by the Valiants and Rams at the top of the Skyline.
How We Got Here
Winners of the last six Skyline Conference titles, the Valiants and Rams continued their successes against the conference as the tournament's top two seeds. Manhattanville, last winning the crown in 2023 and 2024, did not drop a single game in conference play this season, outscoring the Skyline by a bewildering 174-17 margin. The Valiants won the regular season meetings between the top two seeds on April 26, a pair of 6-0 victories over Farmingdale on the Manhattanville Softball Field.
The Valiants once again have a lineup from top to bottom that can do damage alongside a pair of arms that have shined all season long. At the plate, Manhattanville has three batters hitting over .400 entering the playoffs, with sophomore
Josie O'Leary (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) having a breakout year with a .442 clip, junior
Alexa Lazur (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) earning Conference Player of the Year honors in part to her .440 average, and sophomore
Emma Foster (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) batting .402 at the top of the lineup. The trio are part of Manhattanville's collective seven batters with 20 or more RBI this year, led by senior
Isabella Tansey's (San Diego, Calif./University City) 33.
In the circle,
Jori Wilkendorf (Livermore, Calif./Livermore) and
Tahlia Smith (St. Helena, Calif./St. Helena) were both amongst the Valiants' ten All-Conference selections as they dominated all year. Junior Wilkendorf took the mantle as the team's No. 1, posting career-bests in a 17-4 campaign with a 1.93 ERA and 72 strikeouts over 134 innings. Smith was stellar in her rookie regular season, going 12-3 overall with a 2.41 ERA and 85 strikeouts across 87 innings of work.
Lazur, Foster, Wilkendorf, Tansey and
Breanna Ochoa (South Gate, Calif./Saint Joseph) were all selected to the Skyline Conference First Team, while O'Leary, Smith,
Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside),
Cady Sickler (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) and
Angelina Cruz (Oceanside, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) nabbed Second Team accolades.
Farmingdale went 15-3 in conference action to earn the No. 2 seed. The reigning champions had no issue playing away from home last year, going undefeated in the double elimination bracket at Manhattanville to win their fourth Skyline title since 2019. Their lone losses in conference action came in the doubleheader sweep by Manhattanville and in a split against Old Westbury a day later on the 27
th. The Rams bounced back to close out the regular season with six straight wins. Farmingdale's roster features six All-Conference selections, led by a trio of First Teamers in Madison DeMaio, Madison Sturtz and Natalie McMichael. DeMaio continued to shove as one of the conference's best arms with a 2.56 ERA and 102 strikeouts, while Sturtz and McMichael both hit over .320 as two of the Rams' leaders at the dish.
Mount Saint Mary advanced to Purchase with a 4-0 shutout victory over No. 6 Mount Saint Vincent on Tuesday. The Knights unsurprisingly turned to Grace MacDonald in the circle in the single elimination contest, as the Conference Pitcher of the Year logged her 500
th career strikeout in the complete game effort, allowing just four hits while punching out six. MacDonald will figure to be the Knights' workhorse for the duration of their run, ranking third in the conference in ERA (2.46), third in opposing batting average (2.36), first in innings (150.2) and first in strikeouts (152).
Rounding out the bunch, Old Westbury defeated fourth-seeded Saint Joseph's Brooklyn in their road matchup in the first round, 6-2. The Panthers took over with a four-run third inning and never looked back as Olivia DeRose carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. The Panthers have put together a great season on both sides of the ball, ranking second in the conference behind only the Valiants in both team batting average and ERA. No pitching staff has struck out more batters this season than the Panthers', with Old Westbury also being the only team in the conference to keep their games against Manhattanville within five runs, losing the opener of their May 1 doubleheader 3-2.
Looking Ahead
As currently scheduled, play will open on Thursday at 1 p.m. for the No. 1 Manhattanville-No. 5 Old Westbury matchup. No. 2 Farmingdale and No. 3 Mount Saint Mary will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener. Play will resume at 10 a.m. on Friday with the winners of both of Thursday's contests playing first, followed by the first elimination game of the day. The winner of the elimination game will play the loser of the earlier contest to wrap up the elimination bracket and solidify the second finalist. A champion will be crowned on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for noon, with a second game if necessary following immediately afterwards.
All game dates and times are subject to change based on the weather; all information will be provided through the Skyline Conference website (
www.skylineconference.org) as well as on the Manhattanville Valiants' social media channels and website.
Regular Season Meetings:
