By Steve Siniski
In knocking off Baldwin 4-3 in the semifinals of the Nassau County Class A tournament at Mitchel Field on May 23, the 10th-seeded Lady Eagles pulled of their third upset in a row. Second-seeded Syosset (2-1) and seventh-seeded Massapequa (3-2) also fell victim to the surging Eagles.
"This is just a dream come true," Central coach Artie Riccio said. "This was a true team effort. We got the key hits and that's something we had been working on in the last two days of practice. We knew they would eventually start to fall."
The Lady Eagles used the combination of outstanding defense and an opportunistic offense to advance to the best-of-three championship series against Long Beach with the games scheduled for May 28, 29 and 31 at Cantiague Park in Hicksville, all beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Taking advantage of opportunities at every corner, Central turned just five hits (four seeing-eye singles and a triple) into just enough offense, thanks to a stingy defense that also seemed to be in position to make a play on every Bruin at bat.
Of the Lady Eagles' stops, two completely took the wind out of Baldwin's sails. In the second inning, senior centerfielder Jen Gaeta took away a potential extra-base hit from Baldwin's Jackie DeDomenici with a running grab in the right-centerfield gap. And third baseman Nicole Abruzzo made like a hockey goalie on a Bruins' bunt attempt in the fifth inning that went awry. Reaching out with her throwing hand, Abruzzo slowed down the ball enough to turn and glove what became a pop out.
"Our girls have been doing that all year," Riccio said of his teams' defensive plays that also included five spectacular putouts by sophomore shortstop Lisa Longo. "But today was our best defensive game of the year. I told the girls if we can play great defense, we can play with any team out there."
The only rough spot came in the bottom of the sixth, but it was yet another heads-up defensive play that ended any hopes of a Baldwin rally. After the Bruins pulled within 4-3 on a hit-by-pitch, consecutive doubles and a single, Abruzzo fielded an overthrow and fired to second where Baldwin's Charlyne Lagudi was trying to advance. Sophomore pitcher Alyssa Fanno, who also shut down Massapequa and Syosset, struck out Aylene Ilkson to end the comeback attempt.
"We always have one tough inning and that was it," Riccio said of Baldwin's three-run, three-hit sixth.
In the championship round, the Lady Eagles will be facing a familiar foe in Long Beach, although this time Central will have Longo in the lineup. In a 12-6 loss to the Lady Marines back on April 23, it was without the services of their slick-fielding shortstop as Longo missed the game because of illness. The Lady Eagles, true to the form they showed all spring, never gave up, however. They fell behind 11-0 after three innings but battled back before ultimately falling short.
"The girls are ecstatic, because no one thought we'd be here," Riccio said. "Most thought we'd lose to Massapequa, let alone Syosset. And to beat Baldwin, too, it's a dream. The girls are feeling good and believe that the defense can do it. If we can keep our head in the game, we'll be right there."
The only thing left for the Lady Eagles is to try and put the slipper on their foot.
South rallies,
reaches championship
By Tony Bellissimo
In 2000, the Valley Stream South girls softball team took hold of Cinderella's slipper and carried it all the way to the Nassau Class B semifinals as the No. 13 seed.
Last spring the Lady Falcons were seeded No. 10 and took it one step further, reaching the county championship series before falling to Island Trees in three games.
They had a goal this season to get back to the finals, and last Thursday at Mitchel Field they needed a storybook ending to make it happen.
Trailing Floral Park by four runs in the bottom-of-the-sixth, South scored five runs on five hits, the big ones coming off the bats of senior Jeanette Carneglia and sophomore Heather Respol. Then freshman pitcher Diana DiPiano retired the side in order in the top of the seventh to secure a memorable 5-4 victory.
The third-seeded Lady Falcons advanced to meet fourth-seeded Glen Cove in this week's best-of-three championship series at Cantiague Park. If necessary, the third and deciding game will be played on Friday, May 31 at 3:30 p.m.
"We're so excited," said Carneglia, whose two-run single up the middle scored junior Krista Siedlick and sophomore Allison Hertling to tie the game at 4-4. "I can't believe we came back. It was amazing. We really got lucky today."
With two outs, Respol's grounder down the third-base line skipped past Floral Park's Crista Cerrone and into left field, scoring Carneglia with the winning run.
In the top of the seventh, DiPiano, with a large cheering section and her teammates providing vocal lifts, retired Cory Sheehan, Sue Bach and Cerrone to end the game.
"All the support we had definitely played a role," South coach Dom Fontana said. "All it took was those two hits to open the bottom of the sixth and we were off and running. We didn't trail by four runs all season long and probably played the worst five innings we have in three seasons, but the girls didn't quit."
Floral Park pitcher Sara Cerrone held the Lady Falcons in check through the first five innings, allowing only singles by Respol (3-for-4) in the first and third. The Knights pushed across single runs in the second and fifth, and got a two-run single off the bat of Katherine Hallissey in the sixth for a seemingly comfortable 4-0 lead.
But South (17-5 overall), which has played 12 one-run games this spring, still had something left. Seniors Keri Butler and Jen Cully opened the bottom of the inning with singles, and the improbable comeback was on.
"We talked all year about getting to the finals, and I gave them a little speech after we were down 4-0 saying it was now or never," Fontana said. "I guess you could say they responded."
DiPiano, who one-hit North Shore in the quarterfinals, 1-0, and two-hit Garden City in the first round, 3-1, allowed six hits and walked one against Floral Park while striking out four.
"Those one-run games take a toll," said Fontana, "but they gave us that confidence when we needed it."
