Lady Falcons eye playoff run

Valley Stream South has qualified for the Nassau Class A softball playoffs in each of the past two seasons only to lose in the opening round. With a new coach and another year of experience under their belts, the Lady Falcons are hoping to take it a step further in 2011.

After a 6-1 victory over Manhasset, South’s record stands at 3-4 in Conference A-II, 4-4 overall. Junior pitcher Ashley Tkacsik allowed just four hits and fanned 10 to lead the Lady Falcons. Seventh-grader Brianna Schippell was 2-for-3 and scored two runs. Schippell is tied for the team lead in hits with junior first baseman Danielle Bowker.

Rookie head coach Demetri Adrahtas is optimistic his team will continue to get stronger. “We’re not quite where we want to be,” said Adrahtas, who is assisted by Matt Johnson. “We’re playing well in the field, but we haven’t had the consistency at the plate that we need to be successful. There’s no team in the league that we can’t compete with.”

The Lady Falcons got the season off to a solid start with three consecutive wins. In the opener, Bowker’s single in the bottom of the sixth sparked South’s three-run rally in a 4-2 comeback victory over Valley Stream North. Junior catcher Christie DeMarco was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

South continued its winning ways with a 5-4 win over Glen Cove. Again, it took late inning heroics to earn the victory. Schippell singled to score Bowker with two down in the bottom of the seventh to cap off a three-run inning. Bowker’s two-run single had tied the score at 4.

The Lady Falcons made it three in a row with a 7-3 victory over Manhasset. Senior Nicole Dorsey had a hit and scored twice, and sophomore second baseman Kassie Howley had a pair of singles. Tkacsik struck out six and went the distance for her third consecutive win.

Tkacsik, a two-time All-County selection, and DeMarco makeup a solid battery. DeMarco is the prototypical catcher, and the pride of the Lady Falcons. The team’s clean-up hitter is a fiery competitor who threw out 12 of 16 would-be base stealers as a sophomore.