As soon as Sam Lisikatos took a 3-2 pitch to right field, this was going to be Haldane’s day as the third-seeded Blue Devils defeated top-seeded Solomon Schechter 16-1 in five innings due to the run rule at Nanuet High School Thursday afternoon.
The Blue Devils won their second straight Class C title.
Haldane will play the Section 9 winner (either No. 1 Pine Plains/No. 2 Tuxedo/No. 3 SS Seward) Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Nanuet High School in the regional semifinals. The winner of the game will play the Section 8/Section 11 winner at 6 p.m. at Heroes field for the regional title that same day.
The Blue Devils (8-12) got a lot of offense from Lisikatos and Ally Monteleone in the number two hole. They went a combined 7 for 8 with eight runs scored, two triples, a home run, and had six RBI.
“We work hard in practice on hitting and fielding,” Montelone said. “Our hitting showed up and that’s all we needed.”
They put up three runs in the top of the first inning and then broke the game open with five runs in the top of the second inning.
Eighth grader Marley Chefalo pitched steadily for the Blue Devils. She allowed one earned run on two hits in five innings. She had three walks and struck out four batters. Chefalo had allowed no hits through 4 and 1/3 innings until she gave up a squibbler down the third base line to Jessie Espinet of Solomon Schechter.
“She worked hard all year,” Blue Devils head coach Nick Lisikatos said of Chefalo. “We had games where we had to take her off the field when she couldn’t find the strike zone but she’s matured through it. She’s growing up. She’s an eighth-grader and she pitched more like a tenth grader. She grew up watching Chelsea (Lisikatos) pitch. Chelsea’s here to talk. They talk through the game. Like I told them, the reason there’s no name on the back of the shirts is because it’s about the name on the front. It’s about building the program. She (Chefalo) did her job. She had some nice at bats. So with that being said. I can’t be anymore proud of Marley.”
The Blue Devils had a total of 14 hits for the game. Melissa Tringali went 3 for 3 with a double. Sam Ricketts had a pair of hits as well. Geriane Martin had a two-run double.
The Lions (11-4) got one run got an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning by Jesse Jacoby to try and keep the game alive. Chefalo allowed no hits throug
Lions coach Samantha Yodowitz was pleased with the teams resiliency going back to Espinet’s hit.
“Every inning I told them the game wasn’t over,” Yodowitz said. “Especially going into the last inning. Jessie took advantage of a nice pitch somewhat down the middle of the plate. That showed me that they were determined to get at least a run and they were fighting till the end and not packing it in.”
As Haldane gets ready for the first game in the regional tournament, with the game being back at Nanuet High School the team is glad to have this wind under their belt.
“Now we have a feel of where we should be — where our outfield should be,” Sam Lisikatos said. “And for Marley getting used to the mound which was good for her. As for everyone to get used to their position.”
“It’s a great feeling,” Monteleone said. “This has definitely prepared us for playing on this field on Tuesday. It was a long drive last year; we should feel fresh coming off of the bus.”
6 Comments
Great win by Haldane and a “Gutsy” win from a young pitcher with a very bright future in Marley Chefalo. For Solomon Schechter, again, “What Goes Around, Comes Around”
SERIOUSLY Hallie !!!!!
Yes, Joe B – I am “Serious” about that (as you and I always say, each are entitled to our own opinion, whether or not we agree or disagree)
Sometimes, it’s unavoidable to have a score run up. It just happens. A coach can have the players go station to station on the basepaths, but a coach shouldn’t tell players to ‘fail’ on purpose. The run ahead rule is there for a reason, and remember this is high school ball. ALSO remember that a coach is building their team, for the future. They don’t want to have their players ‘dull’ their reactions or change their ‘instincts’ because the score isn’t close. Players need to react to where the ball is hit, or caught, and tag up on flies, etc. If a coach of a team has a big lead, they shouldn’t be expected to make their players work on not reacting etc.
Sometimes the umpire will try to assist by opening up the strikezone, but even they shouldn’t do this too much. It’s tough on a player who gets called out on a strike that is clearly out of the zone, just for the sake of keeping the score close. It’s understandable for the first strike, and maybe the second, but not the third. Losing is part of life, and losing by a large margin is also part of life. It happens.
On the flip side, if a coach is relentless, and is still bunting and stealing to manufacture even more runs (after the run ahead rule level is reached) then that is another story. But I don’t remember this happening in the Sol.Schecter/Haldane game and I doubt the coach of Sol.Schecter did it in the Pal.Prep game.
Look, no one (or 95%) likes to win or lose by a big blowout. It’s not fun for either team. But give the coaches a little slack when it happens. Most aren’t trying to rub it in. But in softball, where individuals are regularly sent up to hit the ball, it’s sometimes hard to contain. In other sports like basketball and soccer,etc., the strategies can be changed a bit to keep the actual scoring from getting crazy. More passes, etc. In softball, though, the coach can try to contain it by limiting the runners a little and absolutely shutting down any manufacturing of runs.
Again, 19-2 after the 1st inning, it was time to shut it down and place the 4 players that were reflected on the score book that didn’t get an at bat (and I don’t want to hear that maybe those 4 spare players all walked or got hit by a pitch. Those kids did not play in this game and that is plain as the nose on your face and you didn’t need to physically be at the game to figure that one out – look at the box score).
Hallie,
As a parent who has been around the game for a long time, it is obvious to me that you do not know the game of softball. Every girl on the Schechter squad got in that game. Each walked every time they got to bat. Maybe you should stop passing judgements unless you know truth. Maybe you should spend less time on this blog analyzing others and take worry about your own child. Please find a hobby.