Baldwin splits playoff games

Baldwin couldn’t have put itself in a better position in the quarterfinals of the Nassau County Class AA softball playoffs last Saturday morning.

Junior pitcher Mel Sadowski had No. 2-seeded Mepham on its heels, allowing just two runners on a walk and an error through the first five innings. Then the offense scraped together a run in the top of the sixth to give the tenth-seeded Lady Bruins a lead and hope of a second straight playoff upset. The advantage, however, was short-lived as the Lady Pirates erupted for five runs in the bottom of the inning and advanced to the best-of-three semifinals with a 5-1 victory.

“[Sadowski’s] specialty has been hitting her spots, she had great outside pitches and they were ahead of them,” coach Tom Llewellyn said of Sadowski, who became the team’s top pitcher midway through the season. “We weren’t sure where she would be at the beginning of the year, but we started using her [as the pitcher] and the team did well. She did a great job.”

“[Sadowski] wasn’t throwing as fast as the pitchers we normally see and we were all off stride,” Mepham coach Mike Muscara said.

In the bottom of the sixth, however, the Lady Pirates hit their stride. The first six batters reached base on four singles, a double and a walk, and by the time smoke cleared, Mepham batted around and played enough small ball to plate two runs before Toni Marie Valeriano boomed a two-run double to left to break open what was a pitcher’s duel.

Baldwin (8-12) scratched out a run when senior Jess Pulis blasted a full-count double to the gap in left centerfield and came around to score on eighth-grader Alex Burns’ single up the middle. Through the first five innings, Sadowski retired the side in order four times with senior catcher Michele Messina erasing the only two baserunners on attempted steals of second base. 

Burns provided late-game heroics in the Lady Bruins 7-5 win over No. 7 Calhoun in the first round of the playoffs the day before, clubbing a two-run homer in the seventh inning that turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead. Her hit followed a single by Pulis. Later in the inning, a two-out single by junior Taylor Samuel plated senior Aryanna Richardson completed the scoring in a back-and-forth battle that included four lead changes. Freshman Montia Moon also had a home run in the win.

“We’ve been in that situation before,” Llewellyn said, noting Baldwin had been involved in seven one-run games during the regular season.

Messina threw out a pair of base runners in the win over the Lady Colts, while junior shortstop Jade Aponte — who had a diving catch against the Lady Pirates — and Pulis robbed Calhoun of hits with diving catches. “We had the No. 2 seed on the ropes,” Llewellyn said. “We were not a typical No. 10 seed.”