Malverne tops VSC in slugfest

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Malverne’s softball team took care of business against a spirited Valley Stream Central squad in a weekday Conference 6 matchup. 

While Valley Stream Central couldn’t pull off the comeback, it exploded offensively in the third inning with seven runs in the 25-13 road defeat April 13. The Eagles were led by second baseman Melanie Bolasingh and  first baseman Elize Quezada, who batted leadoff and second respectively. Bolasingh was responsible for three runs scored, and Quezada had two RBIs, including a two-run homer in the second inning.

“Melanie and Elize are two important returning seniors for us,” VSC coach Steve Sharkey said. “Melanie’s been a role player for the past couple of years and she’s really stepped up this year. She’s been really productive in getting on base and scoring runs. Elize is a great kid with a great attitude and she’s someone to absolutely look out for.”

The Mules exploded offensively in the win and were led by tablesetters Anyely Rijo, Nathaly Uribe, Julia Brienza, and Samantha Frey, who smacked a two-run homer in the second inning. The top of the lineup combined for eight hits, seven RBIs and eleven runs scored. 

One of the best stories for Malverne, and possibly all of Long Island softball, is that its leadoff hitter, Rijo who had a triple, a double, and four RBIs, had never played softball prior to this season. 

“She really set the table today,” coach Nick Moreno said. “We're really proud of her because we just got her going this year. She never knew how to hit, really. Now all of a sudden she's getting on base, she's stealing bases, and she's playing good second base.”

Nirvana Cole got the win for Malverne and threw 140 pitches in 85-degree heat, striking out seven.

A key to Malverne’s success was running the bases. All day it was stealing bases, taking advantage of wild pitches, and moving station to station on throws that came in from the outfield.

“Be aggressive, take a two-step lead. I want them to make sure they're watching the pitch all the time,” said Moreno. “Just try to keep their heads in the game. A lot of times early in the season, they weren't moving off the base. Now they're taking a two-step lead. I think they really got that today. You know, they were running the bases well today and it really helped us win.”         

When looking forward to the rest of the reason, Moreno and Malverne are very optimistic. 

“We lost five seniors, five position players for us last year. We have young players like Nathaly Uribe, and our first baseman Olivia Brown,” he said. “These girls are really coming up and it's as good as it looks for the end of this year. I think it looks even more promising for next year if I can work with them a little bit.”

Valley Stream Central (1-5) takes on Roosevelt, Uniondale, and Hempstead this week, while Malverne (4-3) hopes to stay hot against Elmont, Westbury, and Roosevelt.