Lady Falcons drop playoff opener

A pair of dramatic late-season victories led Valley Stream South to its third consecutive playoff berth, but the Lady Falcons had a short postseason stay. A masterful pitching performance by a 13-year old hurler put an end to South’s season.

Seventh-grader Sarah Cornell struck out 14 and allowed just three singles as No. 6 Clarke beat No. 11 South, 4-0, in the opening round of the Class A softball playoffs last Friday. The Rams got two hits apiece from Alyssa Colletti, Aly Smith, and Nicole Randazzo. Junior pitcher Ashley Tkacsik gave up just two earned runs for the Lady Falcons.

VSS coach Demetri Adrahtas took plenty of positives out of the season. “They beat us last year in the playoffs, but we’ve narrowed the gap a bit,” Adrahtas said. “Qualifying for the playoffs with two 10-inning victories, games that were just like playoff games, was a big step for us. Playing Clarke, one of the better programs in the county, and keeping in tight nearly to the end, will only help us.”

The game was scoreless with two outs in the home half of the fifth inning when the Rams got on the scoreboard with the only run they would need. Colletti looped a ball into right for a single. When the ball got by the right fielder, Colletti took off for second and never stop running. The throw to third got past the third baseman and rolled into dead territory allowing Colletti to score.

South had opportunities to score in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Angela Aragona lined a 1-2 pitch to right with two outs and runners on first and second. But Randazzo threw a strike to the plate and Maria Cruz put the tag on South’s Jessica Liberato to end the threat.

In the sixth, All-County catcher Christie DeMarco lined a single up the middle. With two outs, Tkacsik drew a walk after fouling off five consecutive pitches. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch. With the two runners in scoring position, Cornell blew a fastball by Liberato for the final out.

Using timely hitting, crafty baserunning, and a perfectly placed bunt, the Rams put the game away with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. South finished with a record of 7-8.