Fox Lane nips Huskers in softball sectionals

YORKTOWN, No. 7 Yorktown faced No. 10 Fox Lane in the opening round of the Section 1 Class AA Tournament on May 23 in an exciting game that could have gone either way.

Fox Lane wound up on top, 2-1, to move on to the quarterfinals and end Yorktown’s season.

For Husker coach Gianna Degaltini, it was her first sectional game coaching at her alma mater.

“It’s an incredible feeling, kudos to the girls,” Degaltini said. “We ended up having to move (because of the weather) our game from our site to a neutral site (Lakeland, which has a turf field). They (her players) started the day off on the right note, it just didn’t end up our way. To be here, to coach, and know what it feels like to play for Yorktown, it means more than anything. I highlight those four seniors (Eva Destito, Penny Einhorn, Alyssa McEniry and Katie Piehler), that led the way for the girls. They were people that we relied on, they were always up, and they made my job easy.”

After Fox Lane scored in the top of the first, the Foxes looked to add a second run in the opening frame. Destito, though, caught Piehler’s right-on-the-money throw from center field and tagged the Fox Lane runner out at home plate to keep the score 1-0.

“I thought it was a good throw and I just had to get my body in front and tag her out,” said Destito, who was recently named All-Section.

Yorktown’s throws from the outfield to home plate are something the Huskers have worked on all year, according to Degaltini, who played as an infielder for five years at Division I Canisius College, including one year as a graduate student in 2021.

“She (Piehler) does it so effortlessly,” Degaltini said. “When you do it in practice, you draw it up that way, and you don’t always expect it to work out that way in a game, but it’s exactly what we drew up. Her confidence is what we knew she had. Once that ball was hit to her, that was the person that needed to get the job done and she did. It was a huge play.”

Another big moment came when All-Section honorable mention Mia Horn led off the bottom of the fourth with a triple to right field and came home on McEniry’s groundout to third to tie the game at 1-1.

“It starts with confidence,” Degaltini said. “Toward the middle of the year, she (Horn) just found her groove. She just shoots me in the eyes while I’m at third base (coaching) and I just give her a look, and I say push those arms out, make contact, and she was just able to remember those things and was able to be confident, see the ball and lay back. Like I said, it always starts with confidence.”

After McEniry’s groundout, Destito registered the final hit of her standout four-year varsity career with a double to center.

“I asked Gianna to help me out with my timing on the pitcher and that really helped me get my timing down,” Destito said.

Yorktown, though, was unable to bring Destito home, and Fox Lane scored the eventual winning run in the fifth.

The Huskers also got production at the plate from Kate Horn, who doubled to right in the fifth, and Kiera Keaveney, who legged out an infield single in the sixth.

Pitching well for the Huskers were All-Section honorable mention Kate Brown (4.1 innings, 2 runs, 4 strikeouts) and All-League selection Adriana Barca (2.2 innings, 0 runs, 5 strikeouts).

Yorktown finished its season 14-6.

“We just all played for each other, that was the biggest thing,” said Destito, who will continue her softball career at Bryant & Stratton College. “It meant a lot to wear this uniform, especially to be able to experience this with my teammates.”

Degaltini, who batted .463 in her four-year varsity career at Yorktown and was named All-Section and All-League before graduating in 2016, believes this season was just the beginning.

“We are just going to use this as a stepping stone,” Degaltini said. “To come in and start off the year as a new coach back in Yorktown, we just set the standard. Moving forward, that is what people should expect.”