Mepham sharp in topping Oceanside

Mepham put together its most complete softball game of the season last Monday at Oceanside, pounding out nine hits to back the strong pitching of sophomore Toni Valeriano in a 3-0 Conference AA-I victory.

Senior Casey Thomas went 4-for-4, including a two-run single in the top of the third inning, while junior Mary Galgano and sophomore Christine Rizzacasa added two hits apiece as the Lady Pirates improved to 2-3 in conference play and 4-3 overall. The Lady Sailors (2-3, 4-4) got three hits from senior Nicole Milano and two from freshman Megan McNamara.

Valeriano, a hard-throwing lefty with good command of the strike zone, scattered six hits, walked none and struck out six for her third win in five decisions. “This was definitely our best all-around game of the year,” Mepham coach Mike Muscara said. “We hit, we played defense, and Toni pitched a tremendous game.”

After Galgano singled home Thomas in the top of the second for a 1-0 lead, Valeriano faced her toughest jam of the afternoon in the bottom half with Milano on third and McNamara on second and no outs. Valeriano induced a grounder to second that froze the runners and then fanned the next two batters to end Oceanside’s threat.

In the top of the third, the Lady Pirates gave Valeriano two more runs to work with on the strength of four singles. The last of those came off the bat of Thomas and glanced off the glove of Lady Sailors senior pitcher Ashley Davis and rolled into left field, plating Valeriano and senior Claudia Law to make it 3-0.

“That was a tough break,” Oceanside coach Joe Supple said. “We were inches away from getting out of the inning without allowing a run.”

Oceanside’s defense, in particular senior Deanna Viloa in center field and freshman Claire McNamara at shortstop, kept it within striking distance. The offense posed a mild threat in the fourth, getting Milano to third base with two outs, and got the tying run to the plate in the sixth with two outs before Valeriano got senior Arianna DeMarzo on a long fly to senior Nicole Pazienza in center.

“Every game has been close, which is what you expect in a conference like ours,” Muscara said. “In some games we’ve had one bad inning that cost us. Today we played a clean seven innings and hopefully it’s a win we can build on.”

Mepham was coming off its first conference victory, a 6-2 decision at Syosset on April 12 that snapped a three-game skid. Sophomore Kelly McQuillan pitched well in earning her first varsity win, allowing one earned run on four hits and four walks while striking out five. She got offensive support from Law, who cracked a solo homer, Galgano (3-for-3), and Thomas (two hits.)

The Lady Pirates continue a challenging six-game stretch on the road this Friday at Carey at 4:30 p.m. Oceanside is home against first-place MacArthur at the same time.

"We've done some nice things," Supple said. “We’re looking to become a little more consistent and we want to be playing our best come playoff time.”