Successful year for South Side

Though South Side’s hopes of qualifying for the Nassau Class A softball playoffs were dashed with a loss to Roslyn on May 4, the Lady Cyclones still had plenty to play for heading into the season finale last Saturday at home against West Hempstead.

With a record of 7-8 thanks to a big victory over Sewanhaka two days earlier, South Side was eying a fifth consecutive home win as well as a .500 finish in coach Kristen Aksionoff’s first year at the helm. However, the Lady Rams took advantage of their opportunities and played the role of spoiler with a 10-3 rain-shortened decision.

“It’s a little disappointing because we talked about finishing the season on a positive note,” Aksionoff said. “The conditions were very tough, especially for the pitchers.

“Wins and losses aside, overall it was a year of growth,” she added. “The skill level of all 18 girls improved so much. I was happy with the results and we have a lot to look forward to in the future with so many young players.”

South Side, which was unable to field a JV program this spring, will return 13 to the varsity field next season. Askionoff is also hopeful it won’t be long before the JV is back up and running. “The Middle School team is doing well and has promising numbers,” she said. “We’ll see what happens, but there are definitely some things to be excited about.”

The Lady Cyclones will need to replace two starters, All-County catcher Lia Stamile and left fielder Tara O’Leary. Stamile drove in three runs in the win over Sewanhaka, and O’Leary knocked in two runs in a finale that saw West Hempstead score seven runs in the top of the fourth to break a tie. The game was halted prior to the bottom of the fifth.

Pitcher Emma Wagner capped a solid freshman campaign in the circle by throwing four games over a span of six days. “Four games in a week is a lot of any pitcher,” Aksionoff said. “Emma made tremendous strides during the year. She threw well against Sewanhaka and we played strong defense behind her. The weather conditions against West Hempstead were lousy.”

Stamile (3-for-4, three RBIs, two runs), senior Allison DeNicola (3-for-4), junior Katelin Benincasa (2-for-4), and sophomores Erin Dooney (three RBIs) and Maddie Ajello (3-for-4) provided the bulk of the offense in the win over Sewanhaka. Dooney hit .448 on the year.

Stamile also had two homers in the loss to Roslyn and finished the year with a robust .625 batting average and a team-leading 23 runs. She’ll play for Montclair College in New Jersey in 2016. “Lia was a leader on the field and acted like a coach behind the plate,” Aksionoff said. “She’s one of the hardest-working athletes I’ve ever coached and has the incredible ability to adjust to any pitch.”

Junior shortstop Hannah Festa (.436 average) anchored the infield defense and batted .404. Freshman Stephanie Masotti and junior Victoria Boldis played key roles at third and first, respectively, and senior Sarah Buckley did the same at second.

“I’m proud of the work all the girls put in,” Askionoff said.