I have to say it still does feel a little odd to go back to my old high school, see my old coach and sit in the stands at a field I used to play at! It also makes me feel old when I realize just how long its been since I was in high school!
The field at Pleasantville High School has changed in the nine years since I graduated, as there was a grass infield then and now its a pure dirt infield.
I was back today to cover a good Pleasantville-Briarcliff game, as Panthers pitcher Alyssa Cecchetelli pitched a one-hitter, allowing just a single to Katie Lynch in the sixth inning. She used her defense really well, the Bears kept putting the ball in play but the infield scooped up the ground balls for outs.
Pleasantville won 4-1, as the Bears scored one unearned run in the seventh.
The Panthers strung together three consecutive RBI singles in the third to score all four runs, from Cecchetelli, Kate Verlizzo and Jen McLean. Verlizzo’s was a two-run knock.
Lynch pitched a good game for the Bears, with six strikeouts and just two walks.
Pleasantville improves to an impressive 9-1.

In other games:
In a clash of Class C powers, North Salem edged Haldane, 3-2. Michelle Kay hit a walk-off single in the seventh for the Tigers. Both these teams should be in contention for the section title this season.

Kaleigh Burke of Carmel pitched a one-hitter over Ketcha; Erin Flaherty pitched a three-hitter for Magnus over Pearl River; Alana Burns of Blind Brook pitched a three-hitter over Tuckahoe. Burns is edging closer to her 500th career strikeout.

Cassie Reilly-Boccia of Yorktown hit yet another home run in the Cornhuskers’ 4-1 over Arlington. There are few hitters in Section 1 better than her… she has five home runs and 16 RBI with a .538 average, playing in a very difficult league.

I am out of game action until Thursday when I will be at Brewster-Yorktown!

Well I clearly do not mean the rain by my headline as it seems we do see that everyday!
What I am referring to is that White Plains’ shortstop Dannie Szabo hit not one but TWO three-run home runs in the same inning in the Tigers’ win over Walton at a tournament in Utica. That’s quite a feat!! She finished the game with eight RBI.
Two home runs in one game is pretty impressive.. but the same inning? I’m thinking that’s got to be some kind of record!
Enjoy the weekend everyone…

   The drenching rain that hit the area today has forced Horace Greeley tournament director Stan Sotherden to postpone the Saturday pool-play games. The games will be moved to Sunday with the times remaining the same.

   The tournament will conclude the following Sunday with the first-place, second-place and third-place teams playing a round-robin.

   The following is the Horace Greeley tournament schedule for Saturday. The games will be played on the varsity and junior varsity fields at Horace Greeley High School:

   8:30 am – Sleepy Hollow-Greeley (varsity field)

   9 am – Hen Hud-Clarkstown North – A rematch of last year’s title game won by Clarkstown North in extra innings. This game will be on the JV field.

   10:30 am – Sleepy Hollow-East Ramapo (varsity field)

   11 am – Clarkstown North-Harrison (JV field)

   12:30 pm. – Clarkstown South-Nyack (varsity field)

   1 pm – Hen Hud-Harrison (JV field)

   2:30 pm – Pearl River-Clarkstown South (varsity field)

   3 pm – East Ramapo-Horace Greeley (JV field)

   4:30 pm – Pearl River-Nyack (varstiy field)

   Horace Greeley coach and tourney director Stan Sotherden will set the Sunday game times Saturday night. I will know the Sunday times after I speak to Pearl River coach Mike Carlacci Saturday night.

  

   Pearl River senior windmiller Melissa Tarantino tossed her second no-hitter of the season in a 15-0 victory over arch-rival Nanuet. Tarantino struck out nine.

   Earlier this season, Tarantino collaborated with Katie Scrima in a no-no of Pelham, 8-0. In that game, Tarantino fanned 11 in five innings.

Well as all teams in Conference I play other teams in their league three times this year, League I-A rivals White Plains and New Rochelle squared off for the first time today with New Ro taking the opening game, 3-0 behind a four-hitter from Schonberg. She had nine strikeouts – a number that has come to be low for her – but the New Ro defense was very solid behind her, gobbling up ground balls from White Plains as the Tigers did a good job of putting the ball in play.
Sam Bock had the clutch hit of the afternoon, a two-out bases loaded single on 0-2 to make it 3-0. New Ro scored in the first on an error and Schonberg scored in the third on a wild pitch after hitting a triple.
Bock is playing with a very bruised hand after taking a foul ball off her right hand in the extra innings win over Mamaroneck on Saturday. And she’s definitely a trooper – she had a cast but has taken it off to keep playing.
Lauren Sputo gave up just two earned runs for White Plains – she is just an eighth grader in her first year on varsity and looks good. I think we’ll all continue to hear about good things from her this year and for many more to come. She has a nice drop and rise.
The Tigers definitely miss Dena Frederick in the lineup and on the field but the Tigers are still solid and were aggressive at the plate. Juliana Bailey is now playing third in Frederick’s absence. Right fielder Laura DeMarte had a great assist in the game, throwing out a runner at home on a strike to catcher Sandra Mastrangelo after Ashley DiZenzo hit a single.

   Overlooked in Suffern’s 3-2 setback to Clarkstown North was a first-inning ground-rule double by Suffern’s hard-hitting third baseman, Iona-bound Alyssa Cataldo.

   The senior smoked an Alix Gebhardt pitch to left field that took one bounce and hit the wooden post in left field about 10 feet before Mile Road. Unofrtunately, it only went for a ground-rule double. Suffern coach Ray Buteux estimated the shot to travel at least 250 feet.

   Last week, Buteux told me, while I was covering the New Rochelle-Suffern game, that a new fence would be installed next week (meaning this week). Once again, unfortunately, the hired company still has come to installed the fence. Had the new fence been in place, Cataldo’s rip would have been a dinger.

   Suffern left Cataldo stranded at second. In her next at-bat, Cataldo was intentionally walked.

   Okay, I think that it would be safe to say that many people underestimated Clarkstown North coming into the season. It was an easy thing to do with the loss of elite windmiller Deanna Minuto.

   However, the Rams have shown that they are still a fine team and a 6-0 record to date exemplfies this, after rallying to a 3-2 victory over Suffern today. (Wednesday).

   In its last three League I-B games, the Rams have vanquished Clarkstown South, North Rockland and now Suffern. This is on top of victories over Section 9’s Monroe-Woodbury and R.C. Ketcham.

   The Rams staged a two-out sixth-inning rally to overtake Suffern. Jordan Kapnick smacked a game-tieing triple, after a two-out Diana Luisi walk. Pinch runner Ali Rosenberg scored and then Kapnick came charging home on Christina Glennon’s tapper in front of the plate, that Glennon legged out for a hit.

   Senior Alix Gebhardt had another good showing, tossing a five-hitter with eight strikeouts. Once again, Clarkstown North was effective playing small ball and it resulted in a victory.

   

Just two days after their first matchup, Lakeland and John Jay squared off again today (although it appears a bunch of games were not played today… does anyone know if Somers-Yorktown, Mahopac-Carmel or Ossining-Hen Hud played?) and this time it was Lakeland on top, 4-0 behind a one-hitter from Brittany Lischinsky in six innings. She also had a hit and an RBI. Both her and Rachel Soychak have impressed me at the plate… Soychak was 2 for 2 today with an RBI and a double.
For John Jay, Caroline Dewar had a hit and Gaby Torzilli struck out eight.

I think that league champion is really going to come down to the wire… also in the central league, Fox Lane defeated Brewster in five innings tonight, 9-8. The Bears defeated the Foxes 15-0 on Monday.

And no worries about Samantha Welsh of North Rockland, she was back pitching today and pitched a one-hitter with 10ks against East Ramapo.
In other some games, Pelham beat Ardsley 7-0 as well, North Salem beat Tuckahoe 17-1 and Ashley Clark had a grand slam and six RBI for North Salem.

Let’s all hope the weather holds for tomorrow.. we’ve all been rained out of too many games!

   I spoke to Pearl River coach Mike Carlacci after his team’s game with Nanuet today and Carlacci gave me the breakdown on the Horace Greeley tournament this Saturday-Sunday.

   The nine-team field is divided into a trio of three-team brackets:

   Pearl River, Clarkstown South and Nyack are one bracket; Horace Greeley, Sleepy Hollow and East Ramapo are a second bracket and the third bracket features a clash of titans as Hen Hud and Clarkstown North will bang heads, joined by Harrison.

   The first-place teams in each bracket will play a round-robin on Sunday, as will the second and third-place teams.

   Calling for predicitions on the Hen Hud-Clarkstown North game so give me a shout.