A clutch two-run single by winning pitcher Kate Brown (1 for 2, walk) in the bottom of the sixth inning gave host No. 3 seed Yorktown a thrilling come-from-behind 4-2 victory against crosstown rival No. 6 seed Lakeland on May 26 in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 Class AA Tournament.
The win meant a lot to Brown.
“We really worked together so hard,” she said. “We’ve been practicing together, working hard as a team, like bonding, so everyone is so excited for each other and it really meant a lot to win.”
Trailing 2-0, Yorktown started the sixth with singles by Kaitlyn Horn (1 for 3), Katie Egan (2 for 3, double) and Nina Fasce (2 for 3) to load the bases. A walk by Alicia Cinicolo (stolen base) forced in Kaitlyn Horn before a sacrifice fly to right field by Mia Horn scored Egan to tie the game.
“I tell them, if there is any time to do it, it’s now,” Yorktown coach Gianna Degaltini said of her message to her team before its sixth-inning rally. “This is a team all season long, we tack runs on, tack them on, we tack them on. Every inning we go and we score runs. This game, a little bit different but they didn’t lose the fight and that’s what we try to instill here. You don’t play for I, you play for we, the name on the front, not the back.”
Brown then came through with her two-run single that broke the 2-2 tie, scoring Fasce and Cinicolo.
“I was thinking drive the runners in, just hit it up the middle, it worked and we drove the runners in,” Brown said. “It was very exciting.”
Brown (7 innings, 8 hits, 3 strikeouts, no walks, 2 runs, 1 earned) also came through on the mound.
Degaltini called Brown a quiet leader.
“This season specifically she’s opened up and people respect her, they know that she can get the job done,” Degaltini said. “Because of them, she believes in herself. She’s a heck of a player. She’s got the fight, something you can’t teach.”
Lakeland took the lead thanks to the speed of Liliana Aguirre (3 for 4). She led off the game with a double, advanced to third on the play due to an error and eventually scored on a throw to first base after a strikeout.
Lakeland coach Danielle Fiore said Aguirre set the tone in the first inning.
“I give her free rein. She takes second, takes third, I know she’s smart up here, so she took advantage of their loose ball and just got to third,” Fiore said.
Lakeland (12-7) increased its advantage to 2-0 when Nicole Mautone led off the fourth inning with a double to right-center field, moved to third on Arianna DeEsso’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Jenna Yazzetti’s infield single.
“I went up there thinking to put the ball in play and keep the momentum going,” Mautone said.
Mautone (7 innings, 5 strikeouts) was spectacular through the first five innings in shutting out the Huskers.
“My teammates picked me up and the defense helped me,” Mautone said. “I was focused, locked down my spots and my team and I did a good job of picking each other up.”
Fiore was thrilled with Mautone’s performance.
“She comes to play, she’s focused and she’s been my starting pitcher since her eighth grade year,” Fiore said. “She knew what she had to do today, eyes in, pitching to her best friend (Yazzetti) and having a day.”
For Mautone, a senior, it was the end to a legendary career which included recording over 500 strikeouts.
“I got to represent Lakeland, my team—they are like family to me—I couldn’t ask for a better team to play with,” said Mautone, who will play at Western Connecticut State University.
Yorktown (17-7) then traveled to No. 2 seed Harrison in the semifinals on May 28, coming away with a 9-0 victory, capped off by a seven-run seventh inning.
Kaitlyn Horn (2-3, 2 runs, RBI, 2 walks), Cinicolo (2-4, run, 3 RBI), Ava Huffman (2-4, RBI) and Ally Pace (2-3, run, RBI) all recorded multi-hit games for Yorktown against Harrison, backing up Brown (7 innings, 5 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts).
The Huskers’ postseason run ended in the championship game at North Rockland High School on May 31 with a 9-1 loss to top-seeded Eastchester, the No. 6-ranked Class AA team in the state.
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