Eastport tops Oceanside for L.I. title

Oceanside was unable to recover from a second-inning defensive unravelling that saw Eastport-South Manor take advantage of four errors, scoring five runs on one hit, on the way to winning the Long Island Class AA softball title, 6-2, at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue last Friday.

Christina Rizzi capped the Sharks’ big inning with a two-run triple into the gap in right-center. She added a single and a double and drove in three runs, while her sister, pitcher Marissa Rizzi, scattered five hits and one walk, and struck out three. The Lady Sailors (19-7) pushed across single runs in the fourth and fifth innings but faced an uphill battle all afternoon.

“We had a great season but we’re obviously disappointed in the way it ended,” Oceanside coach Joe Supple said. “What makes it especially tough is we beat ourselves. Plays we made all season, we didn’t make. I’m not sure if the first error made us more nervous or not, but it just snowballed.

“Not to take anything away from Eastport, they’re a great team, but it’s probably been more than a month since we had such a bad inning as we did today,” he added.

The Lady Sailors were sharp over the last five innings, committing just one miscue and outscoring the Sharks by a 2-1 margin. Sophomore pitcher Sabrina Seeger allowed only six hits and earned praise from Eastport coach Laura Ward. “She seemed very resilient,” Ward said. “She threw good stuff and never gave up.”

On the flip side, Supple lauded the effort of Marissa Rizzi. “She’s a legit, strong pitcher,” the said. “She got a bunch of outs on comebackers off the end of the bat. Eastport’s also one of the best defensive teams we’ve seen all season.”

Trailing 6-0 after the Sharks (24-2) scored their lone earned run of the game, Oceanside manufactured its first run against Rizzi in the bottom of the fourth. Taylor Eisel drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second and third on groundouts and scored on Samantha Colten’s single. In the fifth, the Lady Sailors scored in similar fashion when Brittany Teman led off with a single, advanced on a pair of groundouts and scored on a Claire McNamara single.

After McNamara’s hit, Rizzi retired the last seven batters she faced to punch Eastport’s ticket to the state semifinals in Glens Falls this Saturday.