Like watching trailers at a movie theater, the Oceanside softball team is getting a sneak peek at the upcoming Nassau Class AAA playoffs.
And while their feet aren’t up in the comfy reclining seats, eating popcorn, the Sailors are making a statement about what might happen in May.
In loaded Conference I, Oceanside is 7-3 (10-3 overall), one game back of Wantagh. But the Sailors are the top-ranked Class AAA team, ahead of both defending county champ Massapequa and Syosset.
The Sailors are 4-1 in one-run games, including back-to-back wins over Seaford and Wantagh last week.
“My girls are just resilient,” Oceanside coach Carlo Quagliata said. “They don’t get too high, too low, and we’ve been clearing hurdle after hurdle.”
In those high-pressure games where the margins are the thinnest, the Sailors’ demeanor has impressed their head coach.
“They keep a low heartbeat,” Quagliata said. “Sometimes, as coaches, we kind of let our emotions go when we see an error in the first inning or an approach to the first at-bat where they're just kind of swinging without waiting to see what the pitcher’s offering.
“But what they’re doing is adjustments,” he added. “The girls are doing a great job of adjusting to the pitching, paying attention first and second time around, and then third time around, making those adjustments.”
Against conference-leading Wantagh last Saturday, sophomore Alexa Conte led off the bottom of the seventh with a double and was driven in by senior Karley Handleman, who went opposite field for the walk-off single to close out a 3-2 victory.
Throwing first-pitch strikes, Caroline Ferchland went the distance, striking out seven. When the Warriors threatened in the middle of the game with runners at second and third and nobody out, Ferchland bared down and escaped unscathed, not allowing a run.
“She’s the closest thing we’ve had to a power pitcher,” Quagliata said. “When she gets her secondary pitches going, that’s what kept them off balance this time around.”
Against Betz and the Vikings April 23, the Sailors were down to their last out, and Handleman again provided the heroics with a game-tying two-run home run.
In the 10th inning, senior Maggie Nesturrick drove in senior Riley Brasch with the go-ahead run, and then Brasch fielded a bunt, faked a throw to first, and caught the Seaford runner in a rundown between second and third to help seal the win.
“That’s a senior, experienced player who just knows the game,” Quagliata said. “We don’t win the game without Riley Brasch.”
Sophomore Liz Geiger went the distance in the circle to get the win, her second varsity complete-game after throwing a gem in a 6-3 win over Mepham on April 17.
There’s been other supporting stars along the way, like sophomores Hailey Bischoff, who tripled, and Liana Horan, who had the walk-off single in a 2-1 win over Calhoun on April 7.
And sophomore McKaela Genna was called up to plug a defensive hole in the outfield, but the rightfielder has a pair of triples in two weeks thanks to her lightning speed.
Oceanside is at Massapequa this Friday for a 6 p.m. showdown at Berner Middle School.
