East Meadow returns to finals

East Meadow looked to have been backed into a corner by Massapequa in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the Nassau County Class AA softball semifinals on May 17. 

After the Lady Chiefs erupted for five runs in the top of the frame, they nailed down the first two outs in the bottom half of the inning. But that’s when the Lady Jets (17-2 overall) went to work. Boasting a team average of over .400 for the season, East Meadow put the next seven batters on base, six by hit and one via walk, with sophomore catcher Sara Polansky capping a six-run rally by booming a bases-loaded triple to give the Lady Jets a three-run lead on the way to a 13-6 win.

“These girls can hit, they know they can hit and they know they can comeback big,” coach Stew Fritz said of his team which swept the best-of-3 semifinals and stretched its winning streak to eight. “At any time, any one of them can turn it on.”

The victory put East Meadow into the Class AA championships for the sixth time in seven seasons against top-seeded MacArthur at Mitchel Field. The Lady Jets and Lady Generals split their two meetings during the regular season and finished tied atop the standings (along with Massapequa) with tiebreakers ultimately determining the final seedings for the playoffs. “We’ve really been trying to stress to take it game by game no matter who we play,” Fritz said. “Now we’ve got to go against MacArthur, which is tough. They’ve got a good coach, a good pitcher and a [good team].”

The game-changing two-out rally against Massapequa started with a single by eighth-grader Jenna Laird, who finished a perfect 5-for-5 in the win with three singles and two doubles. The tying run scored on a walk to sophomore Christina Loeffler before Polansky completed the damage. “She plays with the poise of a senior,” Fritz said of Laird. “You never know if she’s struck out, made an error or hit a home run.”

Senior Gianna Azzato finished the day 3-for-4 with a single, double and two-run homer, also had a big day as part of a Lady Jets’ attack that piled up 20 hits in all. Senior Jess Laird also added a pair of hits. “The bats have been the story all season,” Fritz said. “This is the best hitting team I’ve ever coached.”

In the first game of the semifinals, on May 16, worked out a 7-4 victory with No. 8 hitter sophomore Emily Shurina’s two-run double breaking a tie game in the sixth. Sophomore Sam Reyes brought home two runs with a double in the first inning, while Loeffler pitched five innings for the win. Senior Kelsey Leonard came on to pitch the final two innings of relief. “All of the girls have contributed in one way, shape or form,” Fritz said.

The Lady Jets, behind a complete game from Leonard, knocked off MacArthur, 9-4, in the teams’ most recent meeting on May 5. Loeffler blasted a two-run homer, while Jess Laird drove in three. In the first meeting, on Apr. 14, the Lady Generals won 7-4. “We had a lot of people on base we just didn’t get the key hits,” Fritz said.