Clarke bats packing pop

Clarke has its ace in the circle, sophomore pitcher Sarah Cornell, and there’s always a good chance the Lady Rams’ opponents are going to come up empty at the plate. Cornell has three career no-hitters under her belt, including a 2-0 victory over South Side on April 12 that included 15 strikeouts.

This spring, however, Clarke (8-2 in Conference ABC-I), relies more on just Cornell’s arm and the defense around her. The offense has been just as strong, averaging six runs per game during a four-game winning streak that was snapped just before the holiday break and scoring at least six in eight of the first 11 games.

“[Sarah] has been with us a long time so she’s use to the one-run games whether we win or lose,” coach Krissy Cutolo said. “This year, there’s a little more of a cushion and it’s a nice thing.”

Floral Park snapped Clarke’s streak with a 2-1 nine-inning victory on April 14, despite 17 strikeouts from Cornell. The offense provided plenty of punch in a 6-1 win over Plainedge earlier that same day, as freshman Sabrina Caputo drove in two runs with two hits, freshman Kirstin Cox had a run batted in and a pair of steals and senior Nicole Randazzo had two hits, a run and a steal.

Cox, the leadoff hitter, has been the catalyst, hitting a hefty .378 but more importantly boasting an on-base percentage of .500 and swiping 11 bases, helping set the table for the heavy bats in the order. Caputo is the team leader in home runs (two) and batting .417, while junior Selena Ruiz, the cleanup hitter leads the Lady Rams with a .478 average.

Cornell has a .325 average out of the No. 5 hole, while junior Jessie Gibaldi is hitting .360 and is a threat to drop down a bunt despite hitting in the middle of the order. Sophomore Brooke Scherer and senior Angelica Gargiulo have split time at designated hitter, while senior Amanda Gargiulo and junior Julia Long have given the offense a boost in the lower part of the order, and senior Carissa Perfect has an on-base percentage of .500. “The [offense] gives [Sarah] more control and a lot more flexibility,” Cutolo said. “It takes the pressure off of her so she doesn’t feel like she has to strikeout everyone. She can set batters up.”

And as much as Cornell is setting batters up and relying more on her movement pitches than the fastball, she’s still striking out batters at a remarkable rate. She notched her 500th career strikeout in a 2-1 win over East Meadow on Mar. 21, and struck out 20 of the 21 hitters she faced—for the second time in her career—in a 6-2 win over Carey on March 27.

Junior Katie Belfiore notched her first career win, knocking off Mineola, 9-1, on April 4, allowing just two hits with six strikeouts in five innings. Defensively, Clarke has been helped out by senior second baseman Danielle Ragusa, sophomore Holly Romeo, who splits time with Cox at shortstop and junior third baseman Lauren Reilly at third. Junior Bicole Ciorciari has recently returned to the outfield mix after missing time due to injury.