SOMERS, N.Y. - On Saturday, April 11, Somers traveled to Fox Lane. While the Tuskers had edged the Foxes 2-1 in their previous meeting, a different mindset was required this time, according to starting pitcher Emily Boyle.
“We came in thinking that we needed to play our game,” Boyle said—and that shift quickly showed.
Somers scored four runs in the first inning and, behind a dominant pitching performance that limited Fox Lane to just one hit, rolled to a 14-1 mercy-rule victory.
The inning didn’t begin with much sting. After Julia Peanamanda struck out, her sister Gianna Peanamanda and Katie Cole each reached on infield hits. With runners on the corners, Cole stole second, and Peanamanda scored on a wild pitch. Two more walks kept the line moving before Keira Griggs’ single to right broke things open.
Boyle then took control in the circle. The defense backed her up, as Cole, Griggs and Alyssa Pirraglia each handled ground balls cleanly, keeping first baseman Caitlin Fitts busy.
In the second, Julia Peanamanda adjusted. Abandoning her usual slap approach, the sophomore drove a ball deep to right and cruised into third. Moments later, Gianna Peanamanda brought her home with a groundout, and Somers added another run on an error.
With Gianna on first, Cole again used her speed to beat out an infield hit. The Tuskers tacked on two more runs behind a Boyle single, a Griggs walk and another wild pitch to extend the lead to 7-0.
Any pause in momentum didn’t slow Boyle, who struck out the side in the inning. Somers pushed the lead to double digits in the third. Cole’s pop-up dropped in for an RBI, and Boyle followed with a two-run bloop to right.
The defense continued to shine, highlighted by a diving stop from Pirraglia, as Boyle carried a no-hitter into the later innings.
Still looking to end things early, Somers added to its total in the fourth. After three infield hits, Cole delivered the big blow, launching a line drive to deep left.
“I get a lot of outside pitches,” the junior said of her approach to going the other way.
Two more runs crossed the plate, and Fitts drove in the final run with a single. Boyle needed just six more outs to close it out. She struck out the side in the fourth but lost the no-hit bid in the fifth on a well-placed grounder.
A dropped ball in the outfield also spoiled the shutout, but the result—and the team’s chemistry—remained intact.
“It’s how long we’ve known each other,” Pirraglia said. “It feels like a family.”
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