Clarke aims to start new streak

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Clarke had its seven-game winning streak snapped on the softball field by Carey on April 21 as the Lady Seahawks scraped together four runs despite 15 strikeouts from senior Sarah Cornell and took a 4-1 decision.

“There were a couple of scenarios that hadn’t happened before and it was big for us to learn from them,” Lady Rams coach Rachel Barry said. “To have 15 strikeouts and still lose means something had to happen.”

And that something was the Lady Seahawks Brianna Pinto, who homered, doubled and scored three runs and Amanda Ulzheimer, who smacked her first career home run in the win. Carey’s Rebecca Vilchez was sharp on the mound, allowing just two hits and two walks to help avenge a 1-0 loss in the first meeting between the teams on March 30, in which Cornell threw a perfect game and struck out 17.

This time around, Cornell again hit double figures, and it wasn’t her last whiff, but the eighth one of the game that held the most historical significance. It was the 1,172nd of her career, setting a new Long Island record that had only been in the books since 2011. “She’s a pusher,” Barry said of her senior, now in her sixth varsity season. “She’s really doing the best she can. But she’s not just a pitcher. She’s a player and a huge offensive contributor to the lineup.”

Prior to the loss to Carey, Cornell smacked a homer in a 12-0 victory over Island Trees on April 19, allowing just four hits in five innings of work and striking out nine. She was supported by her new batterymate, senior Brooke Scherer, who went 3-for-3, scored three times and had three runs batted in and junior Victoria Sferrazza, who hit her first career home run.

With Scherer moving to first base, sophomore Ally Koutsogiannis has jumped in at first base, while sophomore Erin Connolly, who had a utility role last season for the junior varsity team, has settled in well at third. Coupled with a veteran outfield and returning senior Holly Romeo at second and veteran junior Kirsten Cox at shortstop, the Lady Rams now have a slick defense making the plays so Cornell doesn’t have to pile up strikeouts. “We’re so much more than Sarah,” Barry said. “We’re in the game every time because of her. Brooke’s doing a great job [in her first season behind the plate] and our defense has made very, very few mistakes.”

In fact, Cornell struck out eight batters against Bethpage on April 13 and six against Seaford two days earlier, yet she still ended up with a pair of shutouts as the Lady Rams won by scores of 9-0 and 8-0 respectively. With so many big bats at the top of the order, keyed by Cox in the leadoff spot, the Lady Rams have gotten a boost from the production at the bottom. Koutsogiannis has performed well, and junior Emily Widmaier, who converted from a right-handed batter to a lefty, continues to develop as a slap hitter and uses her speed to get on base.

“The expectations are higher,” Barry said after last season’s team won the Nassau Class A title and advanced to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association finals. “But I think they are noticing how much they need each other.”