By STEVE SINISKI
"We came out aggressive," Lady Jets coach Crystal Boyd said. "Today we had more zip and found some holes in the defense."
East Meadow scored once in the first and added two runs in each of the second and third innings. And when the Lady Marines mounted a threat in the bottom of the sixth inning, pitcher Heather Viola prevented a comeback. In the biggest at bat of the game, Viola induced Long Beach's top hitter and run producer, Ashley Passaro, to pop out to second baseman Lindsay McKillop, ending the inning. It was Passaro's two-run single one day earlier that gave Long Beach an early lead and propelled Long Beach to a 4-1 victory.
"She wanted the ball today," Boyd said of her ace, Viola. "She had that look that there was no way they were going to beat her again."
Viola, who struck out 11 in the first game, whiffed eight batters in the victory, scattering eight hits with one walk. And on a day when the defense committed five errors, the pressure was on the junior to keep the Lady Marines from crossing the plate.
Viola consistently danced out of trouble, limiting the Lady Marines damage with runners on base. They stranded 10 runners in all, including four through the final three innings. Long Beach sent just three batters to the plate only once, in the third, and the frame ended when catcher Patti Serzo threw out Melissa Donnelly at second base on a stolen base attempt.
After scoring just once in the Game 1 defeat on May 25, the East Meadow offense wasted little time stringing some hits together last Friday. Lindsay McKillop stroked a one-out single to left in the top of the first, and Brianne Dorato followed with a booming triple to right field, giving East Meadow an instant 1-0 advantage.
Courtney Garland led off the second with a single, and after Long Beach recorded two outs, No. 9 hitter Terese Graziano kept the inning alive with a single of her own. Angela Ruffini ripped a triple that just nicked the foul line in left field, scoring both runners.
"It builds team confidence and deflates the other team," Boyd said of getting out to a strong start.
Donnelly picked up steam after giving up five runs, retiring the final 12 batters of the game and 15 of the last 16. She led Long Beach to the Game 1 victory, limiting the Lady Jets to just two hits.
