DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Manhattanville College remained in first place in the Freedom Conference and inched closer to a playoff berth as the Valiants swept a doubleheader from host Delaware Valley College, 7-2 and 6-5.

Manhattanville (15-10-1 overall) entered the day 6-2 and tied with both DeSales University and King's College atop the Freedom standings. The squad could finish the weekend alone in first as King's was swept by Wilkes University while DeSales travels to Misericordia University on Sunday.

The losses dropped Delaware Valley to 11-14 overall and 3-7 in the Freedom. The Aggies entered the afternoon in fifth place and two games behind Misericordia (5-3) for the fourth and final playoff spot. Delaware Valley travels to Misericordia for a crucial twinbill next Saturday.

The opener saw the Aggies take a 2-1 lead into the fifth inning thanks to an RBI ground out by Bethany Pavlik in the first and an RBI double by Dani Walton in the fourth. The Valiants loaded the bases with just one out in the fifth, but a pop out to the catcher in foul territory had the Aggies one play away from getting out of the jam. Manhattanville cleanup batter Ashley Dell hit a pop up of her own in foul territory, but it was dropped and Dell had new life. Two pitches later, she smacked a grand slam home run over the left-center field fence for a 5-2 advantage.

The Valiants added their final two runs in the seventh as Lynsey Schill hit an RBI triple and scored on an overthrow. Dell finished 2-for-4 with the home run and four RBIs while Brianna Scapperotti and Jessica Van Galen had two hits apiece. Samantha Howe picked up the win as she went the full seven innings and allowed just two runs (one earned) and seven hits.

Seven different Aggies notched hits in the contest. Greer McComas took the loss despite allowed just one earned run in six innings of work.

The nightcap saw Delaware Valley jump out to a 2-0, first-inning lead thanks to an RBI single by Waloton and a Manhattanville error. However, the Valiants came back with a run in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth for a 5-2 advantage. Dell had a two-run single in the spurt while the Aggies hurt themselves with five errors over those three innings.

Delaware Valley came back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth as McComas doubled and scored on an error. Pavlik then added an RBI single later in the inning, the 94th of the senior's standout career and just one shy of tying the school's all-time record by Nicole Dorney. Pavlik is already tied with Dorney for the top spot in career home runs with 19, and her 3-for-4 effort in the second game moved her into second place for career hits with 133.

Manhattanville upped its lead to 6-4 in the fifth on an RBI single by Kim Angiolillo. The Aggies loaded the bases with just one out in the fifth and two on with two outs in the sixth, but could not score in either stanza.

In the seventh, McComas led off with a double, but Manhattanville starter Alyssa Taylor retired the next two batters. An RBI single by Kasey Martini made it a one-run ballgame and, but Taylor got the next batter to fly out to right to center to complete the sweep.

Taylor allowed just two earned runs for her seventh win of the year. Angiolillo and Dell were each 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Walton went 3-for-4 with an RBI for Delaware Valley while McComas was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored. Maggie Kichler took the loss despite allowing just two earned runs over four innings.