PURCHASE, N.Y. | The Farmingdale State College softball team took to the road Saturday afternoon, and picked up a Skyline Conference split in its doubleheader at Manhattanville College. The host Valiants (19-13, 12-2 Skyline) earned a 5-1 victory in game one, before the Rams (18-3, 9-1) captured a 5-2 triumph in the nightcap.
The doubleheader featured the two sides that competed in the 2021 Skyline Conference Championship finals.
In the opening contest, the host Valiants opened their offensive account by taking advantage of a pair of FSC fielding miscues to plate four runs in the bottom of the first inning.
The teams then traded one run apiece in their respective offensive fifth innings, with the Rams scratching back a run when senior shortstop Jessica Clark (Selden, N.Y.) scored from second on a two-out single by classmate and outfield Priscilla Rivera (Brentwood, N.Y.).
Farmingdale State put runners on base in all but one of its offensive innings, including loading the bases in the top of the fourth, but were unable to cause further damage against Manhattanville junior righty Charli Shinstine (Encinitas, Calif.), who tossed a complete-game five-hitter with two walks, two hit batters and nine strikeouts.
The Rams received one hit apiece from Rivera, Clark, junior Brooke Walker (Hampton Bays, N.Y.), freshman Ava Shorr (No. Babylon, N.Y.) and sophomore Angelina Capuano (Sayville, N.Y.; BB, HBP). Senior righty Allie Stanya (Manorville, N.Y.) took her first loss in the pitcher's circle on the season, striking out six Valiants over her complete-game, 116-pitch showing.
In the nightcap, Manhattanville struck first once again when Giovanna Liggett (Huntington Beach, Calif.), who led off the frame with a double, scored two batters later on a single by Abby Tanuma (Chula Vista, Calif.).
Farmingdale State answered with two runs of its own in the top of the fifth frame, with senior catcher Lyndsey Shaw (Sayville, N.Y.) and Rivera taking advantage of their one-out singles to score on a single by sophomore Jenna Giliberti (Bellmore, N.Y.) and a bases-loaded walk by Shorr, respectively.
Both sides scored one run in their respective sixth frames, with Giliberti plating Stanya on a bases-loaded, RBI fielder's choice, before Liggett's leadoff homer in the bottom half of the stanza pulling the hosts to within a 3-2 count.
The Rams tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh, with senior Julianna Prescia (Oakdale, N.Y.) plating Shorr (leadoff double) before coming home on Shaw's sacrifice fly to right. Clark then earned assists on all three ground outs in the Valiants' half of the frame, including one on a diving stop for the second out, to preserve the victory.
Shorr moved to 9-1 in the circle on the season, scattering nine hits over her 79-pitch outing to give Farmingdale State its 11th win over its last 12 games since returning home from its spring break, season-opening trip to Florida. Shaw (double) and Capuano each went 2-for-4 in the nightcap, while Stanya collected two base hits while scoring once.
Head coach Liz Pennino's FSC side is back in Skyline action Sunday morning, when the Rams play host to St. Joseph's-Brooklyn in an 11 a.m. twinbill.