Baldwin blanked in first round

Baldwin put itself behind the eight-ball from the opening inning, but even after falling behind by a pair of runs at No. 5 Mepham, was very much alive until the late stages of a first-round Nassau Class AA softball battle last Friday.

The Lady Bruins (3-13 overall) pieced together their biggest threat in the fourth inning against the Lady Pirates ace, Victoria Gunnels, who allowed just four hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out eight. Senior Ashley Ainbinder laced a one-out single up the middle and advanced to second when freshman Carly Mertens ripped a single to center two batters later. Both runners advanced when Gunnels skipped a pass to the backstop with Katie Greene at the plate, but the junior couldn't keep the rally going. She was caught looking at strike three to end the frame.

"They never gave up and kept competing," Baldwin coach Tom Llewellyn said after the 4-0 loss. "We were one swing away from tying it up."

The Lady Pirates put the game out of reach by scoring two runs in the fifth. Freshman Nicole Pazienza led off with an infield single to second and took second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Nicole Castaldo. Sophomore Claudia Law then ripped the first pitch she saw to left for a run-scoring single. With Gunnels at the plate, Law swiped second and moved to third when Gunnels flew out to deep right. Junior Shannon McLean followed with a single just past the outstretched glove of Greene to drive in the game's final run.

Ainbinder scattered 10 hits and struck out five without allowing a walk. But the two first-inning runs, which scored on back-to-back doubles by Law and Gunnels, proved too much for the offense to overcome. "We got some timely hits in that first inning," Mepham coach Mike Muscara said. "For us as a team, we need to get a lead."

Even in defeat, the Lady Bruins turned in one of their best games, on the heels of a 10-1 loss to rival Oceanside in the last game of the regular season just six days earlier. Baldwin's biggest improvement came on defense, where it settled in and prevented Mepham from generating anything more than a pair of two-run innings.

The Lady Pirates had consecutive singles to open the fourth and ultimately runners at second and third with none out after a wild pitch and stolen base. But Ainbinder struck out the third batter of the inning, threw out McLean at home on a grounder back to the circle and closed things out by inducing a weak grounder to Mertens at first. Despite taking a chance on the comebacker instead of going to first with the throw, Ainbinder hurled a perfect toss to senior catcher Sam Vani who laid down the tag on a sliding McLean just in front of home plate.

"The seniors kept the team together and they practiced to win," Llewellyn said. "They came out with the expectation to win it."