Lynbrook focuses on offense down stretch

The pitching machine Lynbrook’s softball team uses to keep its offense sharp promises to get plenty of work over the final two weeks of the season, coach Pete Toscano said last Friday after the youthful Lady Owls suffered their third consecutive Conference ABC-III loss, 8-4, at Glen Cove.

“I think it’s a combination of we’re not hitting as well as we were early in the season and the teams we’ve seen the second time around are much improved,” Toscano said. “We’ve been lacking clutch hits, but at the same time we’ve made a lot of improvements since the beginning of the year.

“With only five returning players and no seniors, .500 was really our main goal,” he added. “It’s something we can still achieve if we can win two of the last three. We’re going to do a lot of hitting in practice between now and the end of the season.” 

Glen Cove, which lost 13-5 at Lynbrook on April 5, flipped the result thanks in large part to the pitching of Nafeesah Ali and hitting of Alyssa Schmitt (2-for-4, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) and Safire Blissett (home run.) The Big Red led 7-0 last Friday before the Lady Owls chipped away and finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth when they loaded the bases for a fourth consecutive inning.

“It wasn’t until the fourth straight inning with bases loaded that we got runs across,” said Toscano, who noted sophomore Deirdre Murphy’s two-run double brought Lynbrook within striking distance. “We had chances,” he added. “We found ways to get on base, but we didn’t drive in enough.”

The outcome dropped the Lady Owls to 5-6 in conference play and 6-8 overall with four games remaining, including a non-league matchup with East Rockaway under the lights at Greis Park this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. “We started strong, so that gives us a chance to finish where I was looking to finish,” Toscano said. “When you’ve got so many young players, it’s a two-year plan. Overall, all of the girls have been pretty consistent.”

Lynbrook’s last win, 9-6 over Sewanhaka on April 20, saw every starter get at least one hit to support the pitching of junior Julianne Graepel, who struck out 10. Graepel also scored three times. However, it wasn’t all good news that day as sophomore outfielder Samantha Barbato, who had three RBIs, injured her ankle while sliding into second base and is unlikely to return this season. 

Toscano has tinkered with the lineup recently in hopes of generating a spark. Sophomore catcher Jessica Graepel is leading off, followed by junior shortstop Lindsay Ostroff, Julianne Graepel, and junior Olivia Pipia in the cleanup spot. Each of the four had a big hand in Lynbrook’s 12-0 victory over Great Neck South on April 18.

Rematches with Great Neck South, Wheatley and Manhasset conclude the conference schedule. “They’re all winnable games,” Toscano said. “We’re not assuming anything, but we’d like to get at least two of them.”