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Mostly Cloudy The no-hit kids
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His only mistake came with one out in the sixth inning, when a cutter got away from him, grazing a Baldwin hitter and sending him to first base. It cost Kavanagh the chance for a perfect game, but didn’t faze him.
After the final out, Kavanagh made one more toss — his glove — as his teammates mobbed him in celebration. The game was a boost for the squad, which now has a record of 8-5 and hopes to make it deep into the Conference AA-II playoffs. “Our team is really good this year,” Kavanagh said. “We can make it really far.”
He said he recalled throwing a no-hitter once before, about five years ago in Little League, but he said this one was better. Much better.
Kerri Shapiro
Last month’s no-hitter wasn’t Shapiro’s first, and the senior said she didn’t know how many she has thrown, because she tries not to get wrapped up in individual accomplishments. For her it’s about the team. Indeed, the four-year varsity starter said that what stood out most about the East Meadow girls’ game against Calhoun on April 11 was that they won it.
Last June, the Lady Jets won the Long Island championship, defeating Suffolk County’s Longwood High School. Shapiro was on the mound for the clinching game, and she tossed a one-hit shutout. She remembers everything about that one. “I remember every pitch. Every batter. I remember everything about that game,” she recalled. “I’d turn around and look at all of the girls’ faces on the infield. They’d all be looking at me like they wanted to win so badly. And that gave me such an adrenaline rush. I’ve never been more focused in my life.”
“Focused” is a very good way to describe Shapiro. She made the varsity softball team as a freshman, but didn’t begin pitching that season until the playoffs. She hasn’t stopped.
When she’s on the mound, she said, she has learned to zone out everything except the task at hand, a skill that has come with experience. “It used to be where I’d hear everybody screaming at me, and I used to get so mad at myself,” she said. “But I think, getting older, you learn to focus.”
After the final out, Kavanagh made one more toss — his glove — as his teammates mobbed him in celebration. The game was a boost for the squad, which now has a record of 8-5 and hopes to make it deep into the Conference AA-II playoffs. “Our team is really good this year,” Kavanagh said. “We can make it really far.”
He said he recalled throwing a no-hitter once before, about five years ago in Little League, but he said this one was better. Much better.
Kerri Shapiro
Last month’s no-hitter wasn’t Shapiro’s first, and the senior said she didn’t know how many she has thrown, because she tries not to get wrapped up in individual accomplishments. For her it’s about the team. Indeed, the four-year varsity starter said that what stood out most about the East Meadow girls’ game against Calhoun on April 11 was that they won it.
Last June, the Lady Jets won the Long Island championship, defeating Suffolk County’s Longwood High School. Shapiro was on the mound for the clinching game, and she tossed a one-hit shutout. She remembers everything about that one. “I remember every pitch. Every batter. I remember everything about that game,” she recalled. “I’d turn around and look at all of the girls’ faces on the infield. They’d all be looking at me like they wanted to win so badly. And that gave me such an adrenaline rush. I’ve never been more focused in my life.”
“Focused” is a very good way to describe Shapiro. She made the varsity softball team as a freshman, but didn’t begin pitching that season until the playoffs. She hasn’t stopped.
When she’s on the mound, she said, she has learned to zone out everything except the task at hand, a skill that has come with experience. “It used to be where I’d hear everybody screaming at me, and I used to get so mad at myself,” she said. “But I think, getting older, you learn to focus.”
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