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Overcast Lady Rocks capture softball title
East Rockaway girls team's fifth county title in six years
Sophomore Katie Seifert pitched a complete game six-hitter, yielding just one unearned run, and Gianna Cilluffo went 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs to lead East Rockaway to a 3-1 victory over Friends Academy and a sweep of the best-of-three Nassau Class C softball finals at Mitchel Athletic Complex on May 25.
Kim Pacheco added an RBI single and Stephanie Loughran had two hits for the Lady Rocks, who brought home their fifth county title in the past six years the and eighth in the team’s history. East Rockaway was set to face either Mercy or Port Jefferson in the opening round of the NYSPHSAA Softball Championships on June 8 at 3 p.m. at Minisink Valley High School in Slate Hill, N.Y.
Longtime coach Joe Lores said he was thrilled for the girls. “This is a little different from the other titles,” Lores said. “We have a relatively inexperienced team. It’s a brand new bunch of girls who haven’t been here before. The seniors did a terrific job of bringing the young pups along.”
Allie Pacheco and Kim Pacheco, who are not related, are the only two seniors on East Rockaway’s roster.
The Lady Rocks got all the scoring they would need in Game 2 in the second inning. Freshman catcher Jess Deptulski opened the inning with a single, and then, with one out, Cilluffo singled to bring home Deptulski with the game’s first run. A timely hit by Kim Pacheco followed, brining home Cilluffo.
Seifert, who pitched back-to-back one-hitters during the regular season, shut down a Friends team that came into the series averaging 10 runs per contest. She struck out three and did not issue a walk.
The series opener on May 24 wasn’t played quite as neatly. But it was another sophomore pitcher, Becky Italiano, who kept the Lady Quakers off balance, scattering five hits in a complete-game effort as East Rockaway came from behind to win 8-6. The right-hander was tagged with just one unearned run.
The Lady Rocks started the game with a case of the yips, committing three errors that led to an early 3-0 lead for Friends. A double play ended what could have been a disastrous inning for East Rockaway.
