Big inning lifts Lynbrook over VSS

It was fitting the game ended with the ball in Meghan Montine’s glove.

Lynbrook’s senior center fielder did it all last Friday afternoon to help lead the Lady Owls to an important 8-7 victory over visiting Valley Stream South in a Nassau Conference AB-VI softball matchup. Montine reached base three times, stole three bases, scored three runs, made a diving catch, and threw out a runner at the plate. Sophomore Isabella Sarlo drove in the eventual winning run in the bottom of the fourth, capping a five-run outburst with a single that brought home sophomore Elisabeth DiCarmine.

“We’ve played well,” coach Pete Toscano said after Lynbrook improved to 5-5 in AB-VI. “The conference is so close, this was a nice one to get.”

The Lady Falcons (5-6) got contributions up and down the lineup but squandered three- and two-run leads. Senior Tracy Kilcoin and sophomores Katie Shields, Brianna Schippell, and Victoria Martuciello all went 2-for-4. “We disappeared for an inning, which happens with a young team,” South coach Demetri Adrahtas said.

Sophomore Emily Gagliardo, who took over as Lynbrook’s starting pitcher a few weeks earlier, retired the Lady Falcons in order in the top of the seventh on six pitches. Her final delivery was driven to center by South sophomore Manali Inniss, but Montine took two steps back and secured the last out.

“Emily’s doing a great job with her control,” Toscano said of Gagliardo, who struck out two and walked one. “She’s averaging one walk per game, which is key. The defense behind her is fantastic. I don’t think we committed any errors today.”

The Lady Owls were down 3-0 before Montine got in the batter’s box to open the bottom of the first. Martuciello’s two-run single highlighted the fast start for South, which lost the first meeting between the teams on the mercy rule on March 25. Montine manufactured a run in the bottom of the first when she singled, swiped second, went to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch. She did the same thing in the third, and sophomore Kacie Curran also singled and scored to make it 3-3.