By Marley Seaman
Shortstop Patricia Donald tallied three hits and three runs batted in for Malverne, and Rasheda Walcott and Alicia Steele each turned in spectacular catches as the Mules worked to overcome an early deficit.
Steele, a standout for the girls' basketball team, is new to softball. But her speed has translated quickly. In the fourth inning, Steele made a running catch to take a hit away from Brittany Jones, and then grabbed a hard line drive off the bat of Sierra Etienne.
"She can cover a lot of ground. She's quick," Malverne coach Jane Gibbons said of Steele. "Even the other coach commented on that, saying, 'God, she's fast!'"
While Gibbons acknowledges that Steele is still coming along as a batter, her speed helps her turn ground balls into infield hits. She is also able to steal bases with ease ‹ perhaps too much ease. In the sixth inning, she reached base on a ball hit directly at the shortstop, and stole second without a throw. Steele was safe by such a wide margin that she stopped running before reaching the base. She tapped second only after her teammates yelled that she wasn't there yet.
Malverne pitcher Casey Simos worked in and out of trouble in a complete-game win. She fell behind early, but kept the Spartans from scoring in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings as Malverne's offense came to life. "She's very composed ‹ she doesn't get too nervous," said Gibbons. "She's an excellent fielder on top of pitching, and she usually is a generally good hitter for us as well."
Elmont mounted a final charge in the seventh inning. Trailing 9-4, the Lady Spartans loaded the bases with one out on a pair of infield singles and a hit batter. Monica Marriot then grounded to third base, reaching safely on an error.
Simos delivered a wild pitch with Heidi Sanchez at bat, and Cheri Randall scored Elmont's sixth run. But the home plate umpire called Sanchez out for obstructing the play at the plate, taking the steam out of the rally. Brittany Jones then flied out to Steele in center, ending the game.
Elmont scored a run in the third inning when Simos fielded a sacrifice bunt by Randall. Simos turned to throw to third base, but realized that she didn¹t have a play on runner Etienne. She lost the ball as she tried to stop herself from throwing, and Etienne scored. But Simos rebounded from the mistake, stranding runners on second and third by striking out Andrea Polanco and getting a ground-out from Chantall Turnbill.
"We're hoping this will kind of carry us -- we have some good games coming up,² said Gibbons. ³We're hoping that this will carry us through the season."
Malverne improved to 2-4 with the victory, while Elmont dropped to 2-5.
Photos by Kathy Leistner/Herald
