What a day….
-
- May
- 31
Wow ok so I went 4 for 5 in predictions.. getting Yorktown, Hen Hud, Dobbs, Westlake and Tappan Zee but phew missing, White Plains-New Rochelle. What an amazing game that sounds like – 9 innings?. Congratulations on a great game for both teams.
Dannie Szabo had the big hit that scored herself and Sandra Mastrangelo in the ninth. Jillian Schonberg pitched a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts. What an amazing year she had as the most dominant pitcher in the section, finishing with a tiny .421 ERA and 228 strikeouts.
I’ve said it all year, Yorktown’s offense is just amazing. Olivia Calcagnini hit two HRs, Kasey O’Connor was 4 for 4 and both O’Connor and Reilly-Boccia also homered.
Hen Hud-Lakeland was a great game with the Hornets mounting a rally in the top of the seventh, scoring two runs on Christina Scala’s two-run double to close to 4-3. Nicole Tamburri then stranded her on second in a well-pitched game by both her and Scala.
All four of the Sailors’ runs were unearned and Jackie Gallagher had the big hit, a two-run double. Two other runs scored on an error when Jill Gallagher bunted.
Westlake returns to the Class B section final for the second year in a row. Samantha Corrado pitched seven shutout innings for the Wildcats.
Jacqueline Crews pitched a good game for Dobbs Ferry with eight strikeouts and just one walk.
Phew, what a day it was.
I am off tomorrow to MA for my five-year college reunion but I’ll be back Saturday and at North Rockland in plenty of time for the C final at 2! I will be covering the C and AA game and Tony is covering the B and A games.
And my two cents is that what the Clarkstown North seniors did, in my opinion, was very disappointing but they – and everyone involved with the team – know who they are. Their names do not need to be on our blog. Like I said in a post, when I was a senior at Pville we played the section semifinal the day of the prom (and won) – the game was at the usual 415 and I was late but I made it to the prom about an hour after it started. The other senior on the team was our No. 1 pitcher, and she pitched the whole game and even made it to the prom before I did! And like Tony and I mentioned before, while we love having debates on our blog, we are not trying to bury mistakes in anyone’s faces, especially high school athletes, so please leave their names out. We can discuss the situation – and it is a situation not isolated to North in that proms and games affect lots of teams each year. We welcome everyone’s opinions.
But Tony used a good example, if say, an error decides the winner in a key game or an error leads to it, as reporters we are obligated to report what happened and who committed the error. But while we have to tell what happened, we do it in a way as not to shame the kid who did it but mention how it happened and move on, not dwell on it. We are not trying to embarrass any kids (we would never do that), it is just reporting facts. However, in this case, there is no need to mention the kids’ names. We can say starters were missing but there is no need to say why.
See everyone on Saturday! It’s sad to think there is just a week left of hs softball. I hope lots of our area players will be trying out for Empire State Games. I’m writing the softball preview for it so anyone who makes the team definitely let me know 
This entry was posted
on Thursday, May 31st, 2007 at 10:08 pm by Erin Bruehl.
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Clarkstown North’s problem today is not about names, just attitude. When scrutinizing a high school softball team there are a small percentage that work year round on their skills and a large percentage that show up in March and just play. It is the attitude that mystifies me. I only hope that this is isolated to a small spoiled population and not something that is truly pervasive. My daughter made it to pictures an hour late and easily made the limo to the big party, with hair, makeup and nail polish in place.
What a great game today in New Rochelle. Jillian Schonberg completely dominated the Tigers hitters throughout the whole game and it seemed like they’d never get a break. Yet the eighth grader, Lauren Sputo, matched her pitch for pitch during every inning. When White Plains finally got a break when Sandra Mastrangelo’s fly ball landed helplessly in the right center field gap for a double in the top of the 9th, Danielle Szabo capitalized. She stroked an absolute bomb into deep left field, which surely would have been gone at White Plains’ home field. Mastrangelo came around to score, as did Szabo after the relay throw was slightly errant.
Yet New Rochelle wouldn’t go down without a fight. The top of the lineup was up in the 9th, and the first two hitters bunted their way on. A sharp grounder to Szabo and a tough hopper back to Sputo and White Plains was able to get the force at 3rd. With two out, Sputo struck out the last batter of the game and the Tigers won 2-0.
It was a great game where both teams battled and fought hard. The crowd got into it, sharing chants back and forth and getting into the umpire’s ear on every pitch late in the game. I wish the best of luck to Schonberg in the future at college and the best of luck to White Plains in their quest for the section final…just a classic great game played today.
WP-NR thank you for that insight into the White Plains-New Rochelle game. It sounds like it was one of those games that was so well-played by both teams you hate to see either one of them lose. And I echo your sentiments, best of luck to all the New Rochelle seniors who played their last game.
Erin
Please see my other blog and as I said to Tony, I guess we can all “Agree to Disagree” and remain friends. I still stand on my position that these are 18 year old girls that need to be accountable for their actions. It is a huge difference (in my opinion) of not embarrasing someone who made an error (I agree with both Tony and yourself, as I would not want to mention a name of a girl who made an error), by not mentioning a name in an article, and making reference to a set of names, especially 18 year old girls, and captain’s as well, making a selfish decission that clearly affected the outcome of the game.
As I said to Tony, I really like the work that the two of you do for the Journal News.
BRUCE—Your daughter has always shown up with a big smile on her face and with a champion’s heart. Your catcher as well. North came out in the 1st inning like winners and they played the whole game as such.
Now that the prom is over and the hair-dos are messed up, I hope those 4 quitters someday realize how selfish and stupid they were yesterday—and their parents should be so ashamed of themselves for the lack of charcter they and their children display. I hope they don’t decide to “drink” away the truth about themselves.
At least Alix, Kim, Lauren, and the rest of the team can proudly look at themselves in the mirror today. No problem with “naming” Alix, Kim and Lauren. Hard, hard lesson for your girls to learn, but going through this will only make them better adults as they head off into the real prom-less world.
GO TIGERS…..a job well done. You hit, fielded, and got the job done! It is unfortunate that the paper did not give Danielle the home run as we all know it was not a “fielder’s choice.” Sandra was on second and rounded home as did Danielle…..what fielder’s choise was there? I would like someone to explain that nonsense.
And please, may I correct that Jillian kept them from hitting until the end…..WP hit her the whole game….for once! They finally got their bats on the ball. Give them their credit due!
As for NR, can you please give credit where and when credit is due. Stop whining about an injury….it didn’t seem to be a factor in your last “win” in the playoffs.
It’s funny how WP never gets respect from NR when they do beat them. Same thing last year when a home run was hit to beat them and was given the same nonsense of a “fielder’s choice!”
SECTION FINALS HERE WE COME AGAIN!
GOOD LUCK GIRLS…..
I too want to send kudos to ALL the girls for a great season and to say how proud I am of them. The “four”? I would rather forget them and remember my daughter’s REAL teammates. I want to remember Alix’s sense of humor, Jordan’s great smile, Melanie’s bubbly personality, Lauren’s quiet determination, Kim’s “in-your-face, I’m not stopping” attitude, Megan’s heart and Jamie’s laughter.
This IS a life lesson that these girls are receiving, one about responsibility and commitment. Not to just the team, but to themselves. The “four” failed that lesson this time, I only hope that is not the habit for the rest of their lives. Forgive and REMEMBER. No grudges, just remember. Remember to be true to yourselves, stand by your friends with the pride of knowing your own character and you will always be able to hold your heads high.
Thanks to Coach Peterson for your dedication and hard work. You help the kids learn about themselves, not just about softball. Be proud of your real team, I AM.
To the parents: “We had a great time and will miss you all.”
To the seniors moving on: “Good Luck and Godspeed”
To the girls who worked the WHOLE year I say “CHINS-UP”.
OK – Now for some positive news regarding my predictions for Saturday:
Class AA:
Surprise – Surprise ! If the polls don’t reflect White Plains as being the Surprise Team of the Year, I don’t know who is. Kudos to Coach O’Donnell and the Lady Tigers for a “Job Well Done” It is a remarkable team who can take New Rochelle to extra innings and finally scratch across a few runs off of Jillian and hold on. White Plains should be very proud of their accomplishments, so far during the Sectionals. Yorktown appears to be “Destined” to capture the Class AA Sectional Crown. Yorktown has a remarkable lineup that keeps going after you offensively, inning after inning. Neutral Field holds off any home field advantage. White Plains was there last year and this is a first for Yorktown. But, I have to go with Yorktown in this game simply because of their overall talent. I’d bet that White Plains will be back next year as Coach O’Donnell never rebuilds, but reloads. Yorktown meanwhile, gets to go up to Minisink Valley HS on Monday Afternoon, to watch the probable State Regional Match Up between Binghamton HS out of Section 4 and Newburgh Free Academy out of Section 9 (although Pine Bush and Vestal might have something to say about that). Then on Wednesday the 6th, Yorktown gets to face the winner of that game. I don’t know if Yorktown has enough to beat either Binghamton or NFA.
Class A
Remember the Ali vs. Fraser Boxing Match “The Thrilla In Manilla”? Well, this game between the Hen Hud Lady Sailors and the Tappan Zee Lady Dutchies will be just as intense. Hen Hud, the # 1 seed, and deservingly so, has been as good as advertised. Great Pitching and a Solid Line Up, 1 thru 9. Hed Hud has been especially good at home. Meanwhile, Tappan Zee, after finding themselves early in the season, have gelled to become the force that they are today. I guess Tappan Zee likes what the Morabito Tournament does for them. Last year they used it to springboard to the State Final 4. This year, they won it and have again summersaulted after it, onto a terrific run. This game, at a Neutral Site at North Rockland High School, will certainly be a tighly contested game, at a field that TZ is a bit more familiar with than Hen Hud. Both teams have to exhibit errorless softball, taking it, not one inning at a time, not one batter at a time, but one pitch at a time. It will eventually come down to which team has proven itself in the past, handling related presure packed games like this. Therefore, the edge goes to Tappan Zee and I see TZ advancing. Then TZ, like Yorktown, gets to go up and watch the Monday Afternoon State Regional Match Up between probably Maine Endwell out of Section 4 and Cornwall out of Section 9, with the winner going on to play TZ on Wednesday. I see a rematch of last years State Regional Final between Tappan Zee and Maine Endwell, which should also be a very very good game indeed.
Class B
Westlake vs. Alburtus Magnus
Like the Late Rodney Dangerfield once said “Respect? I get no respect” Well, that might be Westlake’s monikor this year as they face AM for the Class B Crown. Westlake has too many offensive weapons and should easily move on. However, Westlake would then have to go play Marlboro (probably) out of Section 9 on Monday at Minisink Valley HS at 5:30 PM (gee, it appears that there are allot of games being played there on Monday, 2 at 3:30 and 2 at 5:30). If Westlake wants to show the state how good they really are and want to gain their “Respect” then, this would be the game to show it because Marlboro is “That Good”
Class C
Dobbs Ferry vs. Haldane
Both Haldane and Dobbs Ferry have beaten Westlake this year and Haldane has been on a tear of late, with allot of momentum in their favor going into this contest against Dobbs Ferry. Haldane hurler, Chelsea Lisikatos, has exhibited the grit and determination to take them to the next level. The Big Key to Dobbs Ferry’s chances in this game rests on the arm of their pitcher, Jacqueline Crews. If Jacqueline can keep the hits to around 4 or 5, then DF has a shot. Any hit count above 5 and I don’t like the Lady Eagles chances at all. I will go with Haldane in this game. Haldane then has to probably face Section 9’s Chester HS on Monday Afternoon at 5:30 at Minisink Valley HS.
Interestingly we have played all four teams that are lining up in the AA and A finals this year so I actually have some insight into these games.
In the AA:
Yorkstown’s lineup will be too much for White Plains to handle in spite of the good pitching provided by Sputo (who has a tremendous future ahead of her). On the other hand, Yorktown’s pitching is not on par with their offense which could open the door for White Plains and some of their good hitters. This may be a high scoring affair, but I feel Yorktown will easily outdistance White Plains.
In the A:
TZ is too strong to be beaten. The pitching staff has been great and the table setter Brittni Alexander has been on fire. When she gets on the offense rolls. With Fairclough, Pacino, Rooney and the rest of the cast it will be back to the states for TZ.
I have read and watched all the ‘blogs’, with predictions and such. I have 1 DOSE of reality, and its called respect. The repect for a ‘strong’ yorktown program goes to its Travel coach…and no one else!! these girls have been together since they were 9 or so and i personally know most of them since 12 yrs. and they are like sisters in the truest sense!!! No repect goes to the travel coach who has tireless hours developing this hard hitting group!!!
A Coach’s Opinion –
While the travel coach has done a great job with this group as you have posted, and yes he deserves a great amount of credit, he is not the only one. I think all travel coaches, high school coaches and parents deserve credit for helping their daughter (or son) succeed. However, please forgive me when I say we are not here to sing the praises of the travel coach, high school coach or parents.
This is about the players. They put in the hard work and dedication, and it is the players who make the game great to watch!
A Coach’s Opinion,
Bruce G pointed out in another comment that he could not believe what good hitters these girls are. I did say that they play for the Yorktown Huskies. Who silently fly under the radar, by the way,.
Didn’t Calcagnini hit 4 or 5 HR at Nationals last year?
Hallie…1 out of 4 NOT GOOD