South Side rebounds for playoff spot

The South Side softball team righted itself just in time to clinch a playoff spot.

After a three-game losing streak put their playoff aspirations in jeopardy, the Cyclones closed the regular season with three straight wins, and in the process, claimed a spot in the AA bracket after missing the postseason in 2023. They finished the spring with a 9-6 mark in Conference 4 play and 10-7 overall.

South Side faced Manhasset in a play-in game on Monday, with the winner claiming a No. 12 seed and the right to face fifth-seeded Herricks the following day.

“We did have a little bit of a down streak, but the girls were practicing super hard [and were] working on the little things that needed to be cleaned up from game to game,” coach Nicole Tufano said.

The Cyclones were enjoying a 4-1 stretch just past the midway point of the season, which began and ended with no-hitters by senior hurler Lily McGrath, before suddenly going cold. They were outscored a combined 18-0 in back-to-back losses at Garden City and Sewanhaka before a 6-2 setback at Port Washington on May 2.

But South Side bounced back to wallop Jericho 13-1 on May 4 and punched its postseason ticket with a wild 10-9 win over Valley Stream North two days later after trailing 5-0 early. Catcher Kaitlyn Ganly had the game-winning RBI in the sixth inning and fellow sophomore Clare McKenna, freshman Evelyn Schmitt and senior Bianca Onorato, who scored on Ganly's hit, all had three-hit games.

“The girls just never game up,” Tufano said. “They all came up with great at-bats, they worked the count, and we battled our way back. It was a great game. It was fun to watch the girls play and battle in a situation that they knew what was on the line for them.”

The Cyclones wrapped up the regular season with a 5-4 non-league win over East Rockaway last Wednesday to earn their only three-game winning streak of the spring and lots of momentum entering the playoffs.

McGrath, who tore her ACL last June, won seven of her nine decisions and had several double-digit strikeout games, including a season-high 15 during her second no-no at Floral Park on April 25. She also hit three home runs.

“She was working through coming back from her injury in the beginning of the season,” Tufano said. “She was a little hesitant to work on a dirt field. That was her biggest concern. She didn't know how her landing foot would be. I'm just really impressed with all the work she’s put in to get to where she is.”

Senior pitcher Emily Koluch finished strong with wins in her last two starts and also saved two of McGrath's victories.

Leadoff hitter McKenna scored four runs against Jericho, Schmitt added four hits and a pair of RBIs and highlighted the East Rockaway win with a first-inning RBI double and a great defensive catch at shortstop to end the contest, and Onorato had a combined five hits versus Jericho and North.