Lady Jets in conference lead

Behind senior pitcher Kerri Shapiro, defending Nassau Class AA softball champion East Meadow is living up to its No. 1 ranking with a perfect 7-0 mark in conference games but hasn’t avoided its share of adversity.

Senior All-County catcher Madison West and senior center fielder Marisa SanAntonio, the team’s cleanup and leadoff hitters, respectively, have been sidelined by injuries. West has been out since April 2 when she suffered a badly bruised ankle, and SanAntonio went down a week later with a quad injury. Both could return next week.

However, the Lady Jets haven’t skipped a beat with sophomore Jessica Laird filling in nicely behind the plate, and senior Tianna LaRosa doing the same in center.

“Our depth is real good,” coach Stew Fritz said after East Meadow (9-1 overall) beat Baldwin, 13-1, on April 17. “We’re very lucky to have someone like Jess to put behind the plate. She’s caught Kerri a lot in warmups and practice, and they’re working well together. Tianna has been solid in center, so we’re quite fortunate.

“There’s no pity party,” Fritz added. “Teams aren’t going to feel bad about our injuries. Our girls know they need to be ready when called upon.”

But, as Fritz said, it all starts with pitching. “Kerri’s been outstanding,” he said of Shapiro, who tossed a no-hitter April 11 against Calhoun in a 12-0 victory and struck out 13. “She’s doing her thing and we’ve been hitting the ball very well.”

LaRosa smacked a two-run homer and sophomore Crista SanAntonio drove in two runs to lead the offense against Calhoun. In their only game during spring break, the Lady Jets staked Shapiro (two-hitter, 12 strikeouts) to an early lead at Baldwin with three runs in the top of the first. Junior Kristen Lindquist homered, stole two bases and scored twice, and senior Claire Travis went 3-for-3 with three runs scored.

With five regular-season games remaining, East Meadow holds a one-game lead over MacArthur in Conference AA-I. The Lady Jets took the first meeting on the road in 10 innings, 11-7, with junior Ashley Vecchione’s double knocking in the eventual winning run, and the rematch is set for April 28 at home.

“We feel anyone can give us competition,” Fritz said. “The league has been very competitive if you look at all the scores. We’re blessed to have the depth that we do.”