EDWARDSVILLE, Pa. – Behind a six-hit shutout from Tournament Most Valuable Player Alycia Feeney (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster), NFCA #20 and top-seeded Manhattanville College captured the 2016 MAC Freedom Softball Championship with a 3-0 win over third-seeded FDU-Florham on Sunday afternoon at Wilkes University's Ralston Athletic Complex.
 
The title is Manhattanville's second MAC Freedom championship in the last three years and the fifth conference title for head coach Dale Martin, who previously won three Skyline Conference titles in his first stint with the Valiants.
 
Feeney was dominant in earning her third win of the weekend, allowing only five singles and one double to the potent FDU-Florham lineup. The sophomore went 3-0 and allowed only five earned runs over the course of the weekend to improve her record to a sterling 21-2 this season.
 
Freshman Sophia Chapelone (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) continued her excellent tournament with two more hits and another run scored to pace Manhattanville (37-2) on Sunday. Junior Alicia Marino (Mahopac, N.Y./Pleasantville), sophomore Laurel Coito (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) and freshman Evonne Torres (Hacienda Heights, Calif./Pioneer) all drove in a run each for the Valiants as well on the day.
 
Manhattanville jumped on FDU starter Audrie Thomas (3-7) early, scoring its first run three batters into the contest. Chapelone led off with a single, went to second on a bunt from Coito, then came home on an RBI single from Marino. Torres added another run with an infield groundout to score Coito to put the Valiants up 2-0 after one inning.
 
Coito added to the run (and home run) total for Manhattanville in the third, launching a solo shot over the fence in left to give the Valiants a 3-0 lead after three.
 
That was all the offense that Feeney needed, who shut down FDU-Florham (19-15) at the plate. Her only real jam of the day came in the fifth after a single and double put two runners in scoring position with one out, but Feeney induced a ground out to hold the runners and then got a nice running catch along the right-field line by sophomore Alexis Ventarola (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) to end the threat.
 
After a leadoff single in the seventh, Feeney got a pop out and a strikeout before Torres gunned down Rebecca DeCarlo trying to swipe second base to set off the Valiant celebration.
 
The NCAA Div. III Championships will begin on Friday, May 13 at regional sites. Manhattanville will find out its destination tomorrow at 1 p.m. when the field is announced on NCAA.com. Fans can watch the D-III Softball Selection Show at http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2016/05/09.