Hendrick Hudson coach Kurt Thomas likes to stress to his team the importance of getting off to a good start.
Thomas’ players heeded his advice on Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Section 1 Class A Tournament.
No. 6 Hen Hud (16-4) jumped out to an 8-0 advantage after two innings against No. 11 Port Chester (10-11) and didn’t look back in a 12-0 Sailor victory.
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“We know it’s important to get off to a fast start, keep our focus and intensity up,” Thomas said. “I could tell by the warm-ups we were ready to play today. We have to be ready to play every pitch, every inning, every game. We have to play each and every game one by one. We can’t look ahead. We just have to focus on the team that we are playing and that’s what we did today.”
Having the experience of making it to last year’s Class A finals is a big advantage his team has, Thomas said.
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“We have been in this situation before,” Thomas said. “A lot of these girls are two- and three-year players. Most of them were here last year. We know what to expect in the sectionals.”
That’s in contrast to the Rams, who had eighth-grader Cassie Lagana in the circle. Lagana is a young but very talented pitcher who puts in a lot of time working on her game, Port Chester coach Jeanine Maiolini said.
“Cassie has been pitching with us regularly, she has been taking over,” Maiolini said. “It was going back and forth between a senior and her, at the beginning of the season but I steadily stuck with her. She has gotten it done.”
As talented as Lagana is, it’s a lot to ask even an upperclassman to go up against the veteran Sailor lineup in a sectional game on the road, much less an eighth grader. The Sailors’ experience showed in the opening inning when they scored three times.
Katie Ross, who was 3 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs scored, started the Sailors’ rally with a lead-off double before advancing to third on a single by Jessica Pelaccio. Ross then scored the Sailors’ first run on a passed ball with Pelaccio advancing to second.
Rachel Buckner, who went 3 for 4 with four RBIs and three runs scored, followed with an RBI single and two batters later Cassidy Boyle had her own RBI single that put the Sailors up 3-0.
Hen Hud continued its hot hitting with five more runs in the second, with this rally started by a one-out single by Kristen Velez. The Sailors' five runs that inning came home on an RBI double by Ross, a two-run triple by Buckner, an RBI single by winning pitcher Julie Gaspar, who was 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs and two runs scored and a RBI triple by Megan Jahoda, who was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI.
With an 8-0 lead after two innings, that was more than enough runs for Gaspar, who went the distance in pitching the shutout for Hen Hud. She allowed just two singles by Lagana, Nicole Sotire and a walk by Kelsey Malony.
“I told Julie, ‘You got to throw strikes, hit your spots, put some velocity on it’,” Thomas said. “We have a good defense. Our defense is going to come around in the sectionals. It’s been a little rough for us during the year but I know we have the team that is capable of playing great defense.”
After the Sailors’ offensive outburst, Lagana allowed just one base runner, on a walk, through the next three innings before Hen Hud put up a four-spot in the sixth inning.
“Overall, I was happy with our season,” Maiolini said. “There were a lot of games that we should’ve won and the score doesn’t dictate that. We were in it, I was proud of them. This is my first year with them, I just jumped into it. We started our season 6-1, I was happy, I was excited. I then lost a couple of players due to injuries.”
Harrison next
As for Hen Hud, its season will continue when it travels to No. 3 Harrison (18-3) on Tuesday, May 31 in the quarterfinals.
The game is a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game, which Hen Hud won 1-0 at Harrison, avenging a regular season road loss.
“They are a tough team,” Thomas said. “They are a three seed. They have great softball players over there, they have a great program. In the past we played well there. We know what their field is like. We just have to play our game."
