SOMERS, N.Y. - On Wednesday, March 25, Somers hosted John Jay at Primrose, and despite facing runners in scoring position in three separate innings, Emily Boyle stayed composed.
“She stays in the present,” said coach Theresa Ricci. With each threat extinguished, the offense was left poised to take control.
The Tuskers broke open a 2-1 game in the fifth and sixth innings and went on to defeat the Wolves, 8-4.
John Jay came out swinging. Elise Templeton and Natalie Sacco both made solid contact to lead off the game, but Julia and Gianna Peanamanda tracked down the drives in left and right field.
With one out to go, Riley Foote singled past Gianna, putting a runner 60 feet away. Boyle stayed locked in, getting Carys Cooper to ground out to second to end the inning.
In the bottom half, Somers kept things small.
“I just try to get it down in a direction,” said Julia Peanamanda, who laid down a perfectly placed bunt for a base hit down the third-base line.
Her sister followed suit.
“Every time she gets on base, I feel really confident,” said Gianna Peanamanda, whose nearly identical bunt led to an error as Charlotte Bender overran the play.
Katie Cole then walked to load the bases, and Caitlin Fitts kept the pressure on. The first baseman drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to left, moving all three runners.
With a 1-0 lead, Somers continued to apply pressure. Alyssa Pirraglia dropped a bloop behind shortstop that Foote couldn’t corral on an over-the-shoulder attempt. Still, Sacco cut down the runner at third, and Maria DeGaetano escaped further damage with a strikeout of Keira Griggs.
Trailing by two, John Jay responded. Bender and Bella Barry singled to the right side with one out, and walks by Clare Doherty and Templeton cut the lead in half. Boyle didn’t waver, striking out Sacco to end the threat.
DeGaetano answered with a quick inning of her own, using a groundout and two strikeouts to send the game to the third.
Boyle ran into more trouble there. Foote reached on an error and stole second, bringing up Cooper with no outs. Unfazed, Boyle got the cleanup hitter to bounce back to the circle and froze Bender with a called third strike.
DeGaetano matched her in the fourth with three groundouts, but Boyle followed with two strikeouts and a flyout to keep the duel intact.
The pitchers combined to retire six of seven batters at one point, but the balance soon shifted in Somers’ favor.
In the top of the fifth, Boyle got help from her catcher. After recording two strikeouts, she still had a runner on third—but Brooke Olivier picked her off as she strayed too far from the bag.
Olivier then sparked the offense.
“It was right down the middle,” said the eighth grader, who drove a deep double to left.
After a strikeout, Somers returned to its small-ball approach. Julia Peanamanda bunted for a hit, and Gianna’s bunt once again forced an error.
That set the stage for Cole, who delivered an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-1. Boyle followed with a strong top of the sixth, keeping John Jay off the board.
The offense stayed hot. Boyle singled to lead off, and Griggs sent her to third with a double to right.
Kaleigh Conti then delivered an RBI single.
“After each of us went up there, we gave each other pointers and made a plan,” she said.
Somers kept rolling. Olivier’s groundout brought in another run, Pirraglia doubled to make it 7-1, and Julia Peanamanda added an RBI groundout to cap the scoring.
John Jay didn’t quit. Kristin Zabrocki singled and stole second, followed by a Doherty walk. With no outs, Doherty attempted to steal second, but Cole took the throw from Olivier and fired home for a key first out.
The Wolves pushed across three runs in the inning, but Boyle closed the door to secure the 8-4 win.
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