Clarke tops Carey for county title

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As if waiting through the weekend to face defending champion Carey in the third and deciding game of the Nassau County Class A softball finals wasn’t difficult enough, Clarke’s Sarah Cornell was forced to endure a few more sleepless nights after back-to-back rainouts.

But when the sun finally came out Wednesday, allowing the series to resume at Cornell’s future home at Hofstra University, the junior pitcher turned out the lights on the Lady Seahawks. Cornell capped second-seeded Clarke’s 3-2 victory and its first county title since 2007 with her 12th strikeout and raced into the arms of catcher Selena Ruiz to set off a wild celebration pile in front of home plate.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet that we’re county champs,” said Cornell, who allowed only four hits and walked two. “I just know my teammates had my back on every pitch,” she added. “I haven’t slept well since we lost Game 2, and I’m not so sure I’ll sleep tonight because I’m so excited.”

The Lady Rams (21-3), winners of 19 of their last 20, advance to meet Mt. Sinai for the Long Island Class A championship at 7:30 p.m. Friday at St. Joseph’s College Athletic Complex in Patchogue. Carey, the No. 1 seed, finished 21-4.

“It feels better than ever,” first-year Clarke coach Rachel Barry said. “To see the girls smiling with one strike left, you could tell they weren’t feeling the pressure.

“They were ready and wanted to play Monday and Tuesday, but the rain worked to our advantage because Carey took the second game and had momentum,” she added.

Cornell had a 2-0 lead when she stepped into the circle in the bottom of the first inning thanks to run-scoring singles by Sabrina Caputo and Holly Romeo. “To start the way we did was huge,” Barry said.

After Carey cut the margin in half on Mikayla Morfesi’s RBI triple in the top of the second, Ruiz singled home Kirstin Cox in the top of the fifth to make it 3-1. The Lady Seahawks answered in the bottom of the fifth with Jaclyn Rodriguez’s RBI double, but Cornell retired the last nine batters she faced.

“Scoring those two runs in the first inning helped us all relax,” Ruiz said.