By TONY BELLISSIMO
The Lady Rams improved to 2-2 in Conference ABC-III and 3-2 overall with a blowout victory over Friends Academy last Saturday. Junior pitcher Jenny Johansen had as many hits at the plate (two) as she allowed on the mound and also drove in three runs to lead the way in a 14-2 win. Seniors Gina Gullo and Liz D'Orsa both went 3-for-3 and scored twice.
“If we can put pressure on the defense and play solid defense of our own, we'll be in every game,” coach Chris Van Kovics said. “We have a lot of flexibility on the roster. Just about everyone can play more than one position.”
Pulling double duty is nothing new for Kristyn Sandberg, a three-time All-County shortstop/catcher looking to cap a tremendous high school career with a playoff appearance. The University of Georgia-bound senior who batted .521 in conference games in 2007 has 13 hits in 14 plate appearances so far this spring. Her home run in the bottom of the third inning against Friends Academy was her fourth in five games, and she leads the Lady Rams with 16 runs scored. “Kristyn's a well-rounded athlete who works very hard,” Van Kovics said. “She's always split time between shortstop and catcher. We're leading her off this year because it makes it tougher for teams to pitch around her. There's a lot we can try to make happen when she's on base.”
Sandberg scored all four runs for West Hempstead in a 10-4 setback to Plainedge in the conference opener on March 29. She went 4-for-4 against winning pitcher Michele Daubman and stole six bases. “Plainedge is probably the team to beat in the conference,” Van Kovics said. “We gave them some extra outs, which didn't help our cause.”
The defense behind Johansen has been sharp the past two games (the Lady Rams topped Manhasset 8-2 on April 2) and figures to be busy throughout the season. “Jenny's not overpowering, but she's always around the strike zone and mixes pitches to keep hitters off balance,” Van Kovics said. “She'll get her three or four strikeouts a game, but with the ball in play most of the time we need to be on our toes defensively.”
The outfield is led by juniors Christie Cornejo and Liz DeMartino and the infield by Sandberg, Gullo and D'Orsa. Gullo does the catching when Sandberg's at shortstop and has batted in the third spot. D'Orsa plays at short when Sandberg catches and otherwise gets the nod at second or third base.
“We have a lot of potential,” Van Kovics said.
Comments about this story? tbellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
