SPORTS

MacArthur sweeps East Meadow for title

Lady Generals win first county crown since 2012

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With its second explosive inning in as many games and shutdown pitching from sophomore Jessica Budrewicz, top-seeded MacArthur resolved some unfinished business by capturing the Nassau Class AA softball title with a 7-1 victory over No. 3 East Meadow to complete a sweep of the best-of-three championship series at Mitchel Athletic Complex on May 25.

The Lady Generals (20-3), who finished as county runners-up to Oceanside last spring, batted around in the top of the second and scored six runs on five hits to give Budrewicz all the support she’d need. Junior Kristen DiCicco had two hits in the inning, including a two-run single to cap it, and senior Jessica Lombardo smacked an opposite-field two-run double.

“We wanted to get back to the finals and win it all,” Lombardo said. “We’re a really close team and everyone works so hard. I can call each and every one of these girls my best friend. We’ve got incredible chemistry.”

East Meadow, which split regular-season meetings with MacArthur and featured one of the top offenses in Nassau with a .390 team batting average, managed eight hits but couldn’t cash in with runners on base. The Lady Jets (17-4), who took a 1-0 lead on senior Crista SanAntonio’s RBI double in the first, failed to score after loading the bases with one out in the third and putting the first two runners on base in the fourth.

“They outplayed us and earned everything they got,” East Meadow coach Stew Fritz said. “We had opportunities but couldn’t come up with the big hits.

“We had an enjoyable season and I think we have a lot to look forward to in the future,” he added.

Budrewicz, who fanned six and walked three, got an infield popout and a strikeout to end East Meadow’s threat in the third after singles by sophomore Sam Reyes and eighth-grader Jenna Laird, and a walk to sophomore Christina Loeffler filled the bases. The pressure was on again an inning later when the Lady Jets got a leadoff single from sophomore Sara Polansky and senior Jessica Laird walked. They both advanced on junior Gianna Azzato’s sacrifice bunt, but Budrewicz got another infield popout and a comebacker to the circle to wiggle out of trouble.

“Those back-to-back innings where they had five runners on base and we kept them from plating anyone were huge,” MacArthur coach Bob Fehrenbach said. “East Meadow has a tremendous lineup, but Jessica’s been very, very good all year and so has the defense behind her.”

The Lady Generals, who will battle Commack or Eastport-South Manor for the Long Island Class AA crown on Friday at 6 p.m. at Hofstra, beat East Meadow in the first game of the series, 8-2, on May 23.

Freshman Lisa Fabig capped a five-run outburst in the bottom of the third with a three-run blast over the fence in left-center, scoring senior Gabby DeNunzio and sophomore Ali Verdi in front of her. Catcher Ashley Budrewicz, the other half of MacArthur’s twin-sister battery, had two hits and scored twice and was on the receiving end of Jessica’s 12 strikeouts.

“They work so well together,” Fehrenbach said of the Budrewicz’s. “They’re the epitome of what this team is all about.”