Monday, June 16, 2025
For the second time in six days, offense ruled the day on the softball field for Elmont and Uniondale as the teams combined for 30 runs on a picture-perfect morning last Saturday.
The host Spartans (5-8 in Conference 8) put up 21 to win for the third time in their last four games and there were plenty of smiles to go around on Senior Day. Senior Jaylene Mendoza got the starting nod in the pitching circle and earned the W, getting plenty of defensive support from freshman Berenice Hernandez-Moreno in center field and plenty of offensive support from senior Angeleena Lemos and Nailah James, who scored three times apiece.
“It’s nice to get a win for the seniors today,” Elmont coach John Squillace said. “One of things we set out to do in the second half of the season was to win the second meetings against teams that beat us the first time and we’ve done a pretty good job with that.”
Junior shortstop Niya Vassell went 1-for-2 with a pair of sac flies to Hernandez-Moreno in center and four RBIs to lead the way for the Knights, who fell at home to Elmont April 28 in a wild affair, 24-18. Junior leadoff hitter Elizabeth Melgar and senior Brihanna Hall both scored twice for Uniondale, which slipped to 1-11.
“We’ve got a mix of seniors and juniors with a couple of sophomores,” Knights coach Doug Modica said. “There’s definitely been some progress throughout the season. We hit some bumps in the road along the way, but we’ve fought and we’ll continue to fight in the last three games.”
Uniondale scored three runs in the top of the third inning last Saturday to erase a 4-1 deficit. Junior Varsha Ramrookum and Melgar both singled and came around to score on a Vassell double. Senior Jada Scott knocked in Vassell to make it 4-4.
Elmont, which got six RBIs from junior Janiya Mcrae (5-for-5, 5 runs scored) in the April 28 matchup, responded with six runs in the home half of the third to take a commanding 10-4 lead. The Spartans batted around with Mendoza and Hernandez-Moreno driving in runs and benefitted from a couple of errors and wild pitches.
The teams combined for 13 runs in the fifth. Uniondale, which was led in the April 28 defeat by Scott who drove in a pair of runs and scored three, saw Melgar, Hall, Scott and junior Jenifer Hernandez make things happen to cut the deficit to 11-9.
But the bottom of the fifth saw five Spartans come to the plate twice as they scored nine runs on five hits to hit the 20-run mark. Hernandez-Moreno, who has been exceptional in center field all spring, Squillace said, singled and scored on senior catcher Arashel Vargas’ two-run double.
Vargas also threw out two runners at second base and has been rock-solid behind the plate handling Mendoza and junior pitcher Layla Rossiano, who defeated Cold Spring Harbor and Great Neck South last week.
