Softball Comes Up Short in Season Finale Against Manhattanville

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team fell one game short of clinching a Skyline Conference playoff spot dropping both ends of their doubleheader to Manhattanville College, 9-3 and 7-2, on Mother's Day.

Ashleigh Hartwig homered for the fourth time this season to highlight game two. 

The Bears wrap up their 2021 season at 17-10 and in fifth place in the Skyline Conference at 12-9, matching their best finish in the 2019 campaign. Despite the losses, St. Joseph's also finished with their most Skyline wins and their highest league winning percentage (.571) since joining the league in the 2016 season.

Game 1: Manhattanville 9, St. Joseph's 3

In a must-win game to qualify for the playoffs, the Bears fell behind early with Manhattanville jumping out to a 6-0 lead with a trio of runs in each of the first two frames. The Valiants used the long ball with home runs by Jaclyn DeLuca and Giovanna Liggett to inflict the early damage.

Taking the circle in relief in the second, Gabriella Salvador (5.1 IP, 3 ER) held the Valiants scoreless for the next three innings to maintain the deficit before surrendering a solo run in the sixth and a pair in the seventh.

The Bears couldn't get anything going against the Skyline leader in ERA, Kylie Pester, who allowed just hits to Sierra Bedrin (1-3, BB) in the first and Arianna Heinsch (1-3) in the sixth before SJC got on the board in the seventh.

After a Vanessa Quigley (1-3, R) double and a Valiant two-out error, Salvador (1-3, 2 RBI, R) just missed a home run, lacing a double to the top of the left field fence that scored two and came around to score herself on a Maeve McKeon (1-3, RBI) single, but the last-ditch comeback bid would come up short.

Game 2: Manhattanville 7, St. Joseph's 2

The Valiants scored first again with a solo run in first but the Bears responded quickly in the home half of the first. Bedrin (2-3, R, BB) led off the frame with a single and moved to third on an error and wild pitch as Heinsch (1-2, RBI) ripped a double down the left field line to tie the game at 1-all.

After Brianna Kilimet sat the Valiants down 1-2-3 inning in the second, the Bears threatened in the second loading the bases on back-to-back singles by Alexis Buchanan (2-4) and Isabella Calabrese (2-4) and a Bedrin walk, but SJC couldn't push any across leaving the game tied.

A pair of Bear miscues in the third opened up a three-run frame with another Valiant home run by Jayleen Torres doing the damage, but Ashleigh Hartwig (3-4, RBI, R) countered in the bottom half taking the first pitch she saw over the left field fence for her fourth dinger of the season.

The Valiants added solo runs in the next three innings to extend their lead to 7-2. Hartwig added another pair of base knocks in the fifth and seventh to cap off a three-hit effort but the Bears couldn't push anyone home to cut into the deficit.

Kilimet (1-1) suffered her first loss of the season striking out two allowing just three earned and Allison Kaspar allowed two earned over the final four innings in relief, striking out one.