Thursday, October 1, 2026
Game one meant a game won for the Uniondale softball program.
A change in conference, which now feels like fighting in the same weight class, means a weight has been lifted off Amanda Prescia’s shoulders.
“This year we’re in a lower conference and they’re still competitive, they just matched our energy,” she said. “I think it gave them a little more confidence knowing that [they’re] playing against kids that are competitive but aren’t much more seasoned.”
And it proved to be true: the Knights opened the season with a 22-18 win March 26 over Malverne thanks to Varsha Ramrookum, who went from being one of the only pitchers last season to one of several in a full staff.
Varsha pitched five innings, striking out 5 in the win.
“I asked her in the fifth inning how she’s feeling, we can throw someone else in if you need it, and she goes ‘coach I got it, it’s fine,’” Prescia said of her opening day winner. “The whole entire time she had a smile on her face.”
For the offense, it starts with junior Brianna Marquez, who reached base three times.
Returning from the injury list, Prescia was really excited to see Marquez back in action, especially since she acted and felt like she never missed time. There’s also senior Cindy Blanco, the starting catcher, went 3-for-3 with a single and two doubles, totaling 3 RBIs, along with shortstop Elizabeth Melgar, who reached base frequently in the opener.
A unique trait about Uniondale is there’s seniors who stepped away from the sport temporarily and returned, like Elizabeth Flores. Prescia explained Flores sustained an injury in the offseason from a different sport, so after taking a year to heal, she’s reinvigorated on the diamond.
“She is so determined and head strong, it’s awesome to see her back on the field,” Prescia praised Flores.
There’s also Jamie Ciciliano, a middle infielder, who Prescia penned as exceptionally strong and athletic. Truthfully, Prescia said that Ciciliano is not happy with her batting, so it was the infielder who came up to the coach and said that she wants more T-time. That, Prescia said, is the essence of her team.
“I think that to me is super promising, when a kid is able to take that and be like, ‘I need to work on this, work with me,’” she explained.
The dust of the first game settled, as did the nerves of opening day.
“The score started getting close, we ended 22-18, we were up but a lot at one point but then we had a rough inning, a couple of errors in the field. It didn’t even look like they were worried about it, they were like ‘no problem, we’re going to get some hits, it’s going to be fine,” Prescia said. “And seeing that was awesome, seeing that they did that themselves. For them to fire each other up it’s an awesome thing to see.”
The Knights host Westbury this Friday and Sewanhaka on Saturday. First pitch for both games is 10 a.m.
