Malverne earns conference crown

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Spring had raised the specter of an existential crisis. 

After losing its ace starter, senior Christina Sangeniti, to a neck injury in March, the Malverne softball team was down to a skeletal nine members as the season got under way. 

Fast forward to May 16 and the threat of elimination still menaced Malverne – only now the Lady Mules were Conference ABC-V champs hosting No. 1 seed Wheatley in game two of the Nassau Class B semifinal series. Sangeniti, who returned in early April, had kept her team even with Wheatley – winner of game one the previous day, 16-4 – through 7 ½ innings, allowing infielder Olivia Quaranto to settle matters with an eighth-inning RBI double that gave Malverne an 8-7 victory and sent the series to a deciding third game. 

“Olivia’s had some big hits for us, and that was another,” Malverne coach Jen Gibbons said. “The girls weren’t deflated after losing the first game, so they played with a good attitude. They understood they were underdogs, and really hadn’t expected to play more than two games.” 

As it turned out, Malverne would play only one more game, losing to Wheatley, 11-0, on May 17 to exit the playoffs and finish the season 9-2 in conference games, 10-5 overall. 

“This year was a bit of a surprise,” Gibbons said after the season-ending loss.  “Even though there were only 10 players, I thought we might have a good chance starting out.  But I didn’t anticipate a year this good.”

Something that came as no surprise was the fine season tendered by sophomore catcher Alex Delligatti – a starter at Malverne since the seventh grade – whose team-leading .787 batting average, second-in-conference six home runs, and 41 RBIs earned her 2017 all-county honors.

“Alex Delligatti is unbelievable,” Gibbons said.  “I’m glad we get to hang on to her.”

Gibbons was soberly alluding to the fact that Malverne is set to soon graduate half its title-winning roster, losing the services of Sangeniti – who was named a 2017 all-conference selection, going 7-3 in the circle while belting 2 home runs – along with fellow seniors Quaranto and center fielder Micaela Fibleuil, who batted .531 and swiped a team-best 38 bases.

“Micaela is incredible,” Gibbons said.  “She’s so fast it’s kind of hard to throw her out.  She also robbed a bunch of people of home runs in center field.  And Christina has been great for us, coming back from her injury.  They’ll be hard to replace.”

While pronouncing this year’s club “one of the strongest” she’s seen in 15 years as head coach, Gibbons was also quick to tout one of Malverne’s off-the-field achievements: With a total GPA of 95, Malverne is in line to be named a scholar-athlete team by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.

“This was probably one of the most successful seasons I’ve coached,” Gibbons said.  “The girls all got along really well, which made them play better, I think.  They’re just good kids.”