Baldwin's 'O' overwhelms opponents

Baldwin softball has exploded for 131 runs over the first 11 games of the season and entered the last week of April on a five-game winning streak in which it outscored opponents 66 to 30.

The Lady Bruins have nine batters with home runs and five with a .500 average or better. Senior outfielder Montia Moon and junior pitcher and first baseman Yaya Spencer lead Baldwin with three home runs apiece. Spencer has a team-best .644 average and 22 RBIs. She was an All-County selection last year along with junior centerfielder Alex Burns, who is hitting .580 with 17 RBIs and 22 runs scored. Senior first baseman and designated hitter Maaziah Smith is batting .611.

After losing to Calhoun 10-9 in the season opener, the Lady Bruins have since scored 10 or more runs in all but two games and have averaged nearly 12 runs.

“As tough as the first loss was, my players bounced back very quickly with a lot of girls stepping up, especially offensively,” Baldwin head coach Tom Llewellyn said.

During their five-game winning streak, the Lady Bruins exacted revenge on Calhoun in a 19-7 win on April 20. The next day they defeated Plainview 11-9 after Spencer hit a three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning to break an 8-8 tie and struck out six batters in four innings of relief. The main motto of this year’s team is to focus on the next play or game after a costly play or loss, Llewellyn said. 

Hosting Farmingdale on March 29, Baldwin’s offense chipped away at an 8-0 second-inning deficit and won 13-9. Two games later, the Lady Bruins relinquished five runs to Hicksville in the first inning but rallied back to win 13-6. Sophomore Nicolette Manzella, a first-year player who pinched hit in the third inning, smacked a homer that sparking a six-run inning.

Senior Lindsay Partridge pitched the first five innings against Hicksville before Spencer took the mound for two innings. The two are a complementary duo: Spencer throws hard and has racked up 41 strikeouts in 28 innings, while Partridge pitches with more finesse and walks few batters, Llewellyn said.  

“It’s good to go from one to the other because it’s harder for the other team to adjust,” he added.

Baldwin’s pitchers throw to sophomore catcher Juliet Bernstein, a lefty power hitter who is also averaging .500 or better along with sophomore Katelyn Borello, the team’s leadoff hitter and shortstop.

Down the stretch, Baldwin (8-2 overall, 6-2 in Conference AA-II) will host Port Washington, Calhoun, Farmingdale, Hicksville and Plainview, and wrap up the regular season at Port Washington. 

Last spring Baldwin, Mepham, Farmingdale and Port Washington all finished tied for the top spot in the competitive Conference AA-II. But the Lady Bruins ended up on the outside looking in at the playoffs.

“The goal really is to put ourselves in a position in that last week to give us at least a chance to win the conference title,” Llewellyn said. “If we lose that goal, the goal will be the playoffs and see what we can do there.”