Late heroics lift Lady Rocks

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East Rockaway is finding ways to win in walk-off fashion and remains in the chase for the Conference ABC-II softball title as the calendar fast approaches May.

The Lady Rocks came through in the bottom of the seventh inning for a second consecutive game, beating Floral Park, 8-7, on April 19 when sophomore Sarah Donnelly singled home senior Caitlin O’Mara with the winning run with one out. O’Mara set the table with a leadoff double after the visitors tied the game with four runs in the top of the inning.

“It’s become a bit of a pattern,” East Rockaway coach Joe Lores said. “It’s the third game we’ve had like that this season. It’s great that we’re finding ways to win, but we want to be able to put games away when we have a sizable lead.”

Senior Erica Acampora’s solo homer in the third gave the Lady Rocks (9-3 overall, 7-3 in ABC-II) a 3-2 advantage, and a two-run blast by senior catcher Marissa Felbinger, her fourth homer of the year, made it 7-3 in the sixth. Floral Park, which took the first meeting, 9-7, pulled even on a walk with the bases loaded, followed by an error that led to three runs.

Freshman pitcher Emily Chelius, who earned 10 wins last spring, had another solid performance in the circle while allowing only three earned runs on three hits while fanning seven. Her earned run average is below two runs per game, Lores noted, and she’s averaging seven strikeouts per outing. “Emily has a strong work ethic and threw a lot in the gym during the offseason,” he said. “She has the mechanics down.

“We need to be a little more consistent with the gloves behind her,” Lores added. “If that happens, we’ll be OK.”

On April 14, East Rockaway pulled out a second tight game with Oyster Bay, 6-5, after trailing entering the bottom of the seventh. The Lady Rocks built a 4-1 lead but yielded four runs in the sixth to fall behind by a run. Then in their final at-bat, Felbinger hit a leadoff homer to tie it and Acampora followed with a single. She advanced to second on a fielder’s choice, and with two outs scored the winning run on junior Corinne Haab’s line-drive single down the leftfield line. “Oyster Bay isn’t near the top of the standings, but they’re playing everyone tough,” Lores said. 

After defeating Mineola on the road last Friday, the Lady Rocks have captured five of their last six games including an 8-5 victory over conference-leading Bellmore-JFK on April 9 behind O’Mara’s two-run homer. Felbinger (.382 avg, 11 RBIs, 10 runs), Acampora (.500), senior Sydney O’Connor (.330, 10 RBIs) and O’Mara (.300, 10 RBIs) are leading the offensive effort.

“Can’t complain,” Lores said. “We’re the smallest school in the county in Conference II competing with the big dogs.”

East Rockaway will face Long Island Lutheran, New Hyde Park and Valley Stream North in non-league action this week.