The Bear Facts

Sitting in fourth place ahead of Mount Saint Mary in the Skyline Conference standings entering the final weekend of the regular season, St. Joseph’s (Brooklyn) will look to secure the final playoff spot as they take on Manhattanville College in a four-game series. The series will mark the first time the two programs will meet on the diamond.

The Bears need a victory in any of the three conference games to clinch a spot in the 2021 Skyline Conference Softball Championship — their third straight appearance — and also secure their best league finish since joining the league in the 2015-16 academic year. With a 12-6 league record, the Bears have already secured their most Skyline victories in a season and their highest league winning percentage in a season. 

The Bears split last weekend’s series against SJC Long Island, earning their first wins over the sibling school since 2012. Nicole Trani slugged 1.615 on the weekend, going 9-for-13 against the Golden Eagles leading to a Skyline Player of the Week honor. The sophomore belted three homers and as many doubles, driving in eight runs. Trani holds the conference lead with five home runs while coming in sixth place in hits (27) and RBI (22) and eighth in slugging percentage (.721).

Ashleigh Hartwig posted three base knocks against Long Island. The two-time conference Player of the Week ranks seventh nationally with a .586 batting average and her .619 on-base percentage is good for 13th in Division III.

On her senior day Sunday, Vanessa Quigley combined to go 4-for-7 with a run and four RBI; including a game-ending double to put the Bears past the Golden Eagles via the eight-run rule.

Sunday’s opening game saw Sierra Bedrin record a trio of doubles, a pair of RBI, and a run scored while in the circle, she struck out a season-high seven in five innings; allowing three runs and a pair of walks as she earned her fourth win of the season. Jessica Mecham picked up her second save of the season, tossing the final two innings.

Mecham’s 2.24 ERA places her fifth in the league. She shares the lead with teammate Gabriella Salvador with a pair of saves and is tied for third with seven wins. Allison Kaspar’s five wins has her tied for sixth in the category.

Valiant Vibes 

With a 9-3 record in Skyline Conference-play, Manhattanville College currently sits behind Farmingdale State in second place in their return to the league since departing after the 2007 campaign for the MAC Freedom Conference, where they were four-time champions. Their meeting with SJC Brooklyn this weekend will be the first in program history.

The Valiants have already clinched a top-4 position and a berth in the 2021 Skyline Softball Championship, but pending the outcome of this weekend's games can finish anywhere from first to fourth.

California natives Charli Shinstine and Jayleen Torres earned Skyline Pitcher and Rookie of the Week, respectively, following a weekend sweep of Old Westbury. Shinstine, who went 2-0 in the circle against the Panthers, fanned 18 batters and allowed just three baserunners in her outings via a pair of walks and a base hit. With 87 K’s on the year to lead the conference and six wins to top the team, Shinstine – along with Jasmine Feliciano – teamed up to toss a combined no-hitter; retiring six and walking one. For her part, Feliciano struck out five and walked one on the weekend.

Torres batted .643 with seven runs scored and as many RBI while hitting a pair of doubles and triples and stealing two bases. The sophomore recorded a pair of multi-hit games in the series, going 4-for-4 in Saturday’s nightcap and 3-for-3 with three runs scored in Sunday’s opening game.

As a program, the Valiants lead the nation in batting average (.488), on-base percentage (.540), and slugging (.713) while leading the conference with 12 home runs, 53 doubles, 210 total runs, and 1.02 ERA. Individually, Torres leads the nation with 2.08 runs scored per game. She leads the conference with a 1.040 slugging percentage. Senior outfielder Isela Casillas leads the Skyline with a .635 on-base percentage and 31 runs scored, placing second in batting average (.578).

With Torres and Casillas leading the way, Manhattanville boasts at least five players in the top 10 in batting, on-base, slugging, hits, and runs scored. Four Valiants rank in the top 10 in RBI. Kylie Pester’s 0.28 ERA is good for second-best in Division III. Feliciano’s 1.05 and Shinstine’s 1.31 ERA’s place them in the top five in that category.