By Nick Buglione
Forever will this summer be etched in their memories as the one in which they captured the Long Island championship, and came in second overall in New York state.
After beating teams from Syracuse and Westchester, the East Meadow squad fell to a Poughkeepsie team in the state championship Tuesday, Aug. 9.
³I was just tickled pink that we made it to the finals,² said coach Steve Stromfeld, whose daughter Lindsay plays on the team.
In East Meadow¹s first game of the four-team, double-elimination state tournament, held in Syracuse, they fell 13-1 to Pearl River, a softball team from Poughkeepsie.
The team rebounded, however, taking the next game against Geddes, from Syracuse, 13-10 behind pitcher Melanie Recher. ³That one was a team effort,² Stromfeld said. ³There was good fielding and timely hitting.²
East Meadow won its next game as well, beating Westchester-based team Harrison in a 3-1 pitchers¹ duel. ³Emily Hoffman was the pitcher, and she had the game of her life,² Stromfeld said.
East Meadow jumped off to an early 2-0 lead, when Lindsay Stromfeld singled and Maria Minutoli got on behind her. With runners on first and second, Toni Turrisi smacked a triple to the fence, scoring both. The girls later tacked on another run, then held off Harrison for the win.
With Geddes and Harrison eliminated, it left only East Meadow and Pearl River, which was undefeated in the tournament.
With already one loss to Pearl River under its belt, East Meadow had to beat the team twice to take the state championship. It proved too daunting a task. ³They (Pearl River) were like the Yankees up there,² Stromfeld said. ³Their pitcher was amazing. She was throwing BB¹s.²
East Meadow lost to Pearl River 9-0. Still, playing in the tournament was a blast and the girls have had one heck ride this summer, Stromfeld said. ³The girls had an unbelievable experience,² he said.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
