Spirited run for V.S. South

After sending defending Nassau Class A softball champion Seaford packing with a first-round playoff upset, 10th-seeded Valley Stream South went toe-to-toe with No. 4 Plainedge before suffering a 3-0 season-ending defeat in the quarterfinal round on May 14.

“We thought we could keep going,” Lady Falcons coach Demetri Adrahtas said. “I’m proud of how we played. In the end the difference was Plainedge got the big hit and we didn’t.”

South’s Ashley Tkacsik and Plainedge’s Kim Nowak both had dominant performances in the pitching circle. The latter proved flawless, firing a perfect game with eight strikeouts, and the Lady Red Devils broke through in the bottom of the sixth inning on Jackie Oleksak’s three-run double with two outs. “As the game unfolded, I was hopeful we could find a way to scratch across a run and keep them down,” Adrahtas said. “Both pitchers were tremendous. Whenever we hit the ball hard, their defense made all the plays.”

If not for Oleksak’s clutch hit, there was no telling how long the game would’ve lasted. Tkacsik nearly worked out of a major jam in the decisive inning. Plainedge had runners on second and third with nobody out and its No. 3 batter at the plate. Tkacsik induced an infield pop for the first out, and after intentionally walking the clean-up hitter to load the bases got another lazy pop for the second out. But Adrahtas said he knew the second the ball came off Oleksak’s bat, the scoreless tie was broken.

“It was a legitimate hit,” he said. “We were one out away from getting out of it.”

Nowak’s rise ball, Adrahtas said, gave the Lady Falcons (9-9 overall) trouble two days after they chased two Seaford pitchers in a 12-1 victory over last year’s county champs. “The rise ball is something we didn’t see the whole season, and Kim throws a good one,” he explained.

Tkascik, a five-year starter who earned All-County honors for a third time, allowed four hits and struck out five. The only walk she issued — just her ninth all season — was the free pass in the sixth. “Ashley had fewer than 10 walks every year for the past five years,” Adrahtas said. “That’s pretty remarkable.”

Tkacsik took a shutout into the fifth inning at Seaford on May 12 and was given an 8-0 cushion to work with. The offense exploded early and South led 4-0 before an out was recorded. Danielle Bowker followed singles by Christie DeMarco, Angela Aragona and Tkacsik with a grand slam to deep left.

“We warmed up terribly, but the first inning changed everything,” Adrahtas said. “I think Christie leading off with a hit helped everyone relax.”

Jessica Liberato had a two-run double in the second to make it 6-0, and Cassie Howley and Amanda Tkacsik drove in runs in the third to make it 8-0. Ashley Tkascik smacked a two-run homer in the sixth, scoring fellow three-time All-County selection DeMarco in front of her, and Amanda Tkascik and DeMarco (4-for-5) had RBIs in the seventh.