PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University softball team opened its postseason run on Thursday afternoon, defeating No. 5 Old Westbury in the opening game of the 2026 Skyline Conference Championship double elimination round. With the 8-1 win, the top-seeded Valiants advance in the winner's bracket and will open day two of play on Friday morning against second-seeded Farmingdale.
After wrapping up the regular season against each other last Friday, the Valiants and Panthers met again on Manhattanville's home field on Thursday. Old Westbury, riding off their 6-2 First Round win over Saint Joseph's Brookyln on Tuesday, came in looking to snap Manhattanville's 34-game winning streak against the Panthers.
They would get off to a strong start in what opened as a pitcher's duel as Camila Uribe led off the third with a double for Old Westbury's first runner of the contest. She would be replaced by Phylicia Cangemi as a pinch runner, who scored the opening run three batters later on Alya Feerick's RBI single to put the Panthers up 1-0.
The Valiants could not generate much against Olivia DeRose the first time through the lineup, with their lone baserunner of Syndi Brooks being erased after reaching on a hit by pitch with a double play in the second. In the third, Alexa Lazur (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) just missed a home run as the ball curled foul before reaching the left field pole, eventually being retired via ground out.
DeRose opened the fourth with a strikeout before Josie O'Leary (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) drew a one out walk. That brought Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) to the plate, who blasted the fourth pitch she saw well over the left field fence to put the Valiants on the board with thunder with their first hit of the game, taking a 2-1 lead.
Finding an opening against the Old Westbury ace, Lazur was able to keep one fair in her second at-bat with one gone in the fifth for a solo homer to put Manhattanville up 3-1. Breanna Ochoa (South Gate, Calif./Saint Joseph) kept things moving with a single and a steal of second, scoring two batters later on O'Leary's single.
Jori Wilkendorf (Livermore, Calif./Livermore) finished her outing after five innings in the start, with her lone blemish being the lone run in the third. Outside of the two hits she allowed in the frame, the junior was spectacular, allowing just one other hit while not issuing a walk and striking out two. Wilkendorf improved to 18-4 on the year with the win.
With the three-run lead in hand, the Valiants turned to Tahlia Smith (St. Helena, Calif./St. Helena) out of the pen. The rookie arm was not greeted kindly, giving up back-to-back singles to the Feerick sisters Aliya and Jessica before walking Ashley Pierce on four pitches to load the bases with nobody out. With the game able to be changed on just one swing, Smith delivered some of the biggest pitches of her season, striking out the next three Panthers in order to strand three and keep the lead in tact.
The Manhattanville bats rewarded their pitcher with four insurance runs in the bottom half to blow the game open. Hailey Ragozine took over in the circle for Old Westbury, as the Valiants would load the bases against her on singles by Brooks and Johanna Granillo (Reseda, Calif./Cleveland) alongside a fielding error. Brooks was able to score on a double play, but the inning continued on another error on Ochoa's grounder that allowed Cady Sickler (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) to score. Given extra life, Emma Foster (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) hit an RBI triple to plate Ochoa and came home one batter later on O'Leary's second hit of the afternoon to pull away 8-1.
Smith retired the side in order in a stress-free seventh to pick up her second save of the season. The rookie added two more strikeouts in her final inning of work.
Up Next
Manhattanville takes on the other winner from Thursday, No. 2 Farmingdale, in the first game on Friday at 10 a.m. The winner automatically advances to Saturday's finals, while the loser will play in the second elimination game of the day at approximately 3 p.m.
