By STEVE SINISKI
A three-run triple by the Lady Comets in the fourth inning was the decisive blow. ³I think we struggled with our hitting,² East Meadow coach Crystal Boyd said. ³We were slow to score some runs.²
Hicksville managed to string together their hits against Lindsay McKillop, while the Lady Jets had seven against the combination of Samantha Jacoby and Jessica Bonczyk. Rachel Sidney and Heather Viola each smacked home runs in the defeat.
³We had 15 hits against Mepham,² Boyd said, referring to a 7-1 East Meadow win on April 23. ³Against Hicksville we just had a few hits here and there.²
Viola was the pitcher of record in both of the Lady Jets¹ wins last week, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out 13 in a 4-2 decision over Massapequa on April 25. She was equally as impressive in the victory over Mepham, again striking out a baker¹s dozen, as the Lady Pirates scraped together just four hits. Meghan McKillop, who missed the Hicksville game, provided the power with a home run and three runs batted in, while Sidney continued her strong hitting out of the leadoff spot with a pair of RBIs.
³We¹re still tinkering with the lineup,² Boyd said.
Just five games remain on the regular season slate, beginning with this Friday¹s home rematch with Baldwin at 4:30 p.m. The Lady Jets took the first meeting, 7-2, on March 29.
The Lady Bruins entered play last Monday riding the wave of a four-game winning streak behind strong pitching from staff ace Devon Kelly. She had allowed one run or fewer three times during the hot streak.
³Baldwin¹s doing real well,² Boyd said. ³But we swung well and were patient with [Kelly in the first meeting].²
Following that rematch, a road trip to Syosset on Monday for a 4:45 p.m. start looms. In the earlier game between the teams, a 6-0 win by East Meadow on April 14, Viola and Lindsay McKillop combined for a no-hitter. Oceanside is in town on Wednesday, and the regular season ends with games against MacArthur, on May 10 at 4:45 p.m., and at Long Beach, on May 14 at 4:45 p.m.
³I think we need to get back to doing what we do best, playing defense and swinging the bats well,² Boyd said.
