Alissa Brubaker had never hit a ball out of the park at home. So when the Eastern captain stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and her team down 2-1 in the sixth inning, hitting a grand slam was the furthest thing from her mind.

After working the count to 3-1, the senior shortstop squared up a letter high fastball and lifted it to deep left center. The ball hit the fence inches below the yellow piping, and Brubaker nearly ran over Carly Rawlings on the base paths before scampering back to first with the longest 2 RBI single of her career. Even without the home run, Brubaker and her teammates could not have been more pleased as they held on to win game one 6-5 and took the nightcap 13-7 to sweep Manhattanville and improve to 4-2 in Freedom Conference play.

Brubaker was just one of the afternoon's heroes for the Eagles. Maggie McGowan limited the powerful Valiant line-up early, and she singled and scored to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. McGowan got great help from her outfield who made solid plays behind her all day, but the defensive play of the first game came with a runner on second and two out in the third. Nicole Bifulco laced a single to deep center field that Karen Hertzog charged and fielded cleanly. With the runner going on contact, only a perfect throw would get her, and the senior co-captain deleivered a rope that hit Sam Terenzoni's mitt in plenty of time to make a tag and to keep the Valiant lead at 1-0.

Manhattanville scratched for another run in the top of the fifth, but Hertzog made a nice running catch to end the threat with the bases loaded. Terenzoni led off the sixth with a single, but did not get further than second base. McGowan got a nice play on a slicing line drive from second baseman Jaclyn Gangemi to put the Valiants down in order in the top of the sixth and to set up the decisive inning of the game.

Gangemi led off the inning with a single up the middle and fellow freshman Jaimie Schwartz worked the count to earn a base on balls. Sophomore third baseman Amy Bellows gave herself up on a well-executed sacrifice bunt, and Rawlings walked to load the bases.

Brubaker took ball one, and after fouling off the next pitch, took two more to set up her momentum changing blast. Terenzoni then cracked another single, but Rawlings had to hold at third. The Valiants earned two more outs before Hertzog legged out an infield hit to give the Eagles a 4-2 edge. McGowan then cracked another single to drive in a pair and put the Eagles up 6-2.

Manhattanville refused to go quietly, and they put two on to lead off the top of the seventh. Nicole Oliva hit a scalding line drive to right center that Hertzog tracked down for the first out, but the Manhattanville bats were coming alive. The visitors loaded the bases and pushed across a pair of runs with just one out before Eastern coach Colleen Stuppy decided to bring in a reliever.

Kristine Rosko had been warming up for her game two start, but the call came early, and the sophomore right-hander was ready. Rosko induced an RBI grounder to first for the second out of the inning before finishing the opener with a strike out.

McGowan picked up the win to improve to 5-3. Rosko picked up her first save.

Game two looked fairly benign from the start as well. The Eagles scored a single tally on a McGowan RBi in the top of the first, and through two and a half innings, it appeared that the game was going to be a pitcher's duel. The Eagles broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the third. Hertzog delivered an RBI double, and Gangemi knocked home another with a deep sacrifice fly to center before the Eagles plated their final two runs on miscues.

Manhattanville finally picked up a run on Rosko in the top of the fourth, but the sophomore hurler limited the damage to just a single tally and got out of the inning with two runners stranded up 5-1.

Val Heffline, who finished the day 3-4 with an RBI in the ninth spot in the order, started the five run fourth with a double to the fence down the left field line. After a line out and a pair of walks, Hertzog came through with another big RBI hit. This time the center fielder drove in a pair with a single up the middle. Gangemi and Heffline knocked in the last two runs of the inning and the Eagles looked to be on their way to a shortened game up 10-1.

The visitors battled back with a five run inning of their own. The last two hitters in the Valiant order reached on singles to set the table for the dynamic hitters at the top of the Manhattanville line-up. Manhattanville plated one run and loaded the bases for Oliva, who entered the day hitting nearly .600 on the year. The senior shortstop ripped a 3-1 pitch over the fence for a grand slam, and game two was a game again at 10-6.

After a visit to the mound, Rosko recovered and got the next three hitters in order to keep the Eastern lead at four. Terenzoni led off with a single, and Kate Phelan got hit by a pitch for the second time in the game to bring Hertzog to the plate. Hertzog got a pitch she liked and pulled it over the fence for a three-run blast. Hertzog's six RBI game gives her a team-best 15 on the year.

Rosko, pitching with a seven run lead, allowed just a single run in the seventh for the 13-7 final. The Eagles collected 15 hits in the nightcap as Rosko improved to 4-2 on the year. The doubleheader sweep was significant in the conference standings, but also for the Eastern squad, as members of the Ambler family were at the game for the first time this season. Coach Mark Ambler passed away suddenly this past January, and the players carry the memory of their former coach with them in every game. After the games, Hertzog, Brubaker and their younger teammates presented Eileen Ambler with a team shirt and were able to spend some time with the family.

The Eagles host Ursinus College next Thursday in a non-league doubleheader before resuming Freedom Conference play at FDU-Florham next Saturday.

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