Lawrence on verge of .500 mark

Lawrence sandwiched a pair of wins on the softball field around a loss to Malverne last week to move one step closer to .500 in Conference ABC-V with a record of 3-4.

The Lady Golden Tornadoes beat Great Neck North on April 26, 19-9, behind the hitting and pitching of junior Sarah Noble. She went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs to help lead the offense and tossed five innings of relief in the circle to earn the win. Junior Marisa Bou also went 3-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs.

“In the games we’ve won, we’ve executed and limited errors,” first-year coach Matt Wynn said. “We might play five strong innings and two poor ones. We have to do a better job at damage control. We’ve improved at stopping the big innings and hopefully we’ll continue to do so the rest of the way.”

Pitching a third game in as many days was taxing on the arm of freshman Emily DiNardi, who threw a no-hitter in a 14-1 win over Roosevelt on April 24 and allowed just four earned runs in a mistake-plagued 15-1 defeat at Malverne just 24 hours later. “She’s done a nice job all season,” Wynn said. “Going three days in a row is tough.”

At Malverne, Kim-Lin Ramasawak’s two-run single capped a six-run outburst in the fourth inning that gave the Lady Mules (7-6 overall, 4-2 in conference play) a 9-1 lead. The hosts scored six more times in the sixth, including a two-run single by freshman pitcher Sydney Witowski and a pinch-hit, three-run homer by freshman Kim Danns.

“Lawrence has improved since the last time we played and hung right with us until we finally got going,” Malverne coach Jennifer Gibbons said.

After Witowski retired the side in order in the first, the Lady Mules pushed across three runs in the bottom of the inning with two outs and nobody on base. Jessica Mele (3-for-3, three runs scored) hit her first of three consecutive singles, Witowski reached on an error, and Sara Robinson walked to load the bases. Mele and Witowski scored on an error, and Robinson crossed the plate on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead.

Lawrence answered in the top of the third with its only run manufactured by senior Joseline Castillo. She led off with a double, stole third and came around the score when the throw sailed into left field. 

In addition to getting a no-hit gem from DiNardi in their win over Roosevelt, the Lady Golden Tornadoes had junior shortstop Nicole Robinson go 3-for-3 with three RBIs and senior catcher Alexis Quiroz drive in a pair of runs. 

“We’re looking forward to the last three games,” said Wynn, whose team closes out with a home battle with Wheatley and trips to Cold Spring Harbor and Roosevelt.