CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On Thursday, May 22, John Jay hosted Eastchester in the first round of the section one tournament, and the teams treated the crowd to a back and forth that had a ninth inning only sixty feet away.
Riley Foote at second, the potential winning run didn’t alleviate the excitement and anxiety either. Unfortunately, a miracle was not to be for the Wolves.
Bella Barry was unable to bring in the run, and John Jay could only hang their hats on a hard fought, heartbreaking end to the season.
Eastchester didn’t wait to make things tough on the sixth seed either. Angelina Recine smacked a one out triple, Sophia Gutierrez followed with a double, and Sabrina Cosgrove singled to give the Eagles a 2-0 first inning lead.
Exchanging the box for the circle, Cosgrove quickly rounded off the first inning. Three quick outs and the game moved to the second.
There, Maria DeGaetano settled down. At least to start, the sophomore struck out Victoria Gutierrez and got Taylor Naclerio to pop to second. One out to go, Eastchester wasn’t done.
Alyssa Peduto singled, stole second and landed on third after Recine’s infield hit. A stolen base later, the Eagles were poised to double the lead. Not so fast, the John Jay starter got Sophia Gutierrez to ground out to Laney Daley at short.
No answer in the bottom of the second, DeGaetano’s donut in the third provided the lead-in for John Jay’s bottom of the inning eruption. After Daly struck out, Natalie Sacco singled, and DeGaetano and Erin Samuelson loaded the bases with a pair of walks.
No apologies, a little help was next. Sophia Gutierrez’s attempt to catch Sacco off third sailed into left, and two runs broke wind at home. Samuelson left at third, Riley Foote had more in mind than a ground ball to get the run in. The second baseman went deep, and touching them all, the sophomore gave her team a 5-2 lead.
DeGaetano then enjoyed the prosperity. Kind of, she had to endure a one out first and second situation, but closed the inning out with a strikeout and a ground out.
Onto the bottom of the fourth, the Wolves added on. Bella Barry led off with a single, stole second and reached third on Daly’s infield hit. From there, Barry did it on her own. The center fielder stole home, and the lead increased to four.
A little trouble again in the fifth, DeGaetano got Mariabella Petrie to fly out, and the third out left Katherine Reardon stranded at second.
Unfortunately, John Jay was unable to add on in the fifth. Three up and three down, Eastchester made the home team pay.
Naclerio led off with a single to left, Alyssa Peduto followed up with a single to center, and Recine loaded the bases with a walk. Sophia Gutierrez representing the tying run, the catcher slipped the knot. Electrifying, her grand slam emptied the bases and broke the scoreboard.
A single kept it going, but the Wolf defense stood tall. Cosgrove bounced to Cooper at third, and a 5-4-3 double play ended the inning.
The next three halves belonged to the pitchers, though. Nine batters, nine outs, the stage was set for the thrilling completion.
Even so, the top of the eighth looked like another jam that DeGaetano would get out of. After a lead-off walk by Alyssa Peduto, DeGaetano got Recine to ground to third for the out at first, and Sophia Gutierrez struck out.
But the Peduto family wasn’t done. Gianna singled, and the Eagles were three outs away.
Of course, the Wolves refused to be cowed. Elise Templeton reached on an error, and Foote singled.
First and third with no one out, Cooper was unable to lay down a bunt and followed with a strikeout. So too did Charlotte Bender, and even though Barry’s pop to short ended the season, the girls league championship gave plenty for this team to be proud of.
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