Miller Place senior Ava Zicchinelli with one of her 8 strike outs. Photo by Bill Landon
Sophomore Sadie Bryant makes the play for the Panthers. Photo by Bill Landon
Evelyn Paul rips the ball straight away for the Panthers. Photo by Bill Landon
Shortstop Laney Vomero makes the catch for the Panthers. Photo by Bill Landon
Breya Kesler crushes the ball for the Panthers in the LIC game against Mineola. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place senior Emily Lopez scores. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place senior Brooke Callaghan with a bat bender. Photo by Bill Landon
Shortstop Laney Vomero throws the runner out at first. Photo by Bill Landon
Evelyn Paul makes the play for the Panthers. Photo by Bill Landon
The perfect bunt. Photo by Bill Landon2972 Safely on at first. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place sophomore Delaney Schleider from behind the plate. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place sophomore Sadie Bryant throws the runner out at first. Photo by Bill Landon
Panthers WIN! Photo by Bill Landon
Panthers WIN! Photo by Bill Landon
Panthers WIN! Photo by Bill Landon
Panthers WIN! Photo by Bill Landon
Panthers WIN! Photo by Bill Landon
Panthers WIN! Photo by Bill Landon
Panthers WIN! Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
The Miller Place Panthers softball team made it look easy with a 3-0 shutout win over Nassau champion Mineola at Farmingdale State College to capture their second consecutive Long Island Class A championship on June 5.
Whether it was Breya Kesler’s two-out double to drive in two runs in the top of the third or Sadie Bryant’s RBI in the top of the sixth, the Panthers executed both on the field and behind the plate to hold Mineola scoreless. Pitching ace Ave Zicchinelli allowed just one hit.
Zicchinelli, a senior, fanned eight batters to propel the Panthers for the second year in a row to the New York State regional final against Marlboro Central (section IX), on Sunday June 8 at the Martha Ave sports complex in Bellport. The win advanced the Panthers to the semi-final round on Tuesday where they made short work of Bayport-Blue Point with a 7-1 victory behind another stellar performance from Zicchinelli, who pitched a no hitter and fanned 13 batters.
The win propels the Panthers to the Suffolk Class A championship game on June 14 where they will face either Kings Park or a Bayport-Blue Point. First pitch is slated for 10:00 a.m.
FOGO Tyler Kuprianchik, who was named Most Valuable Player of the game, charges upfield in Northport's Long Island Class A Championship game against Port Washington. Northport won 13-9. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Jack Sandrib defends for Northport in the Tigers Long Island Championship game on Saturday. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Winning goaltender Luke Lamendola (right) celebrates Northport's win with teammate Mike Tittman. Photo by Steven Zaitz
The Northport Tigers are Class A Long Island Champions for the second consecutive year. Photo by Steven Zaitz
The Northport boys lacrosse team emerged the winners of the Long Island Boys Lacrosse Class A final.
The team beat Port Washington, 13-9, on Saturday, June 4 at Hofstra University.
Mount Sinai falls in the Long Island championship game for a third straight season. Photo by Alex Petroski
It took 23 games, but the undefeated 2017 Mount Sinai Mustangs softball team finally met its match in the Long Island championship game. The Mustangs fell to MacArthur, 7-0, June 2 at St. Joseph’s College for its first loss of the season. Sophomore starting pitcher Julia Golino allowed five earned runs, 10 hits and two walks over 3.1 innings to blemish her was-perfect record.
Mount Sinai prays for a rally in the seventh. Photo by Alex Petroski
Mount Sinai’s powerful offense managed just four hits in the final after scoring at least six runs in 11 out of their last 12 games. For a third consecutive season, the Mustangs reached the high of a county championship, only to fall short of a Long Island crown.
MacArthur’s Jessica Budrewicz shut down Mount Sinai with a complete game shutout, seven strikeout performance. She allowed three Mustang hits in the first two innings, but just one more over the final five. Mount Sinai head coach Thomas Tilton applauded her performance in the circle.
“She’s good man — she moves it, she’s got a rise ball, a nice changeup, she hit her spots and she didn’t miss much,” he said. “ Tip your hat to her, she’s a good pitcher. That kid can throw.”
MacArthur celebrates defeating Mount Sinai in the Long Island championship game. Photo by Alex Petroski
The Generals put Golino in a hole early, scoring the first five runs on two-out hits. Golino couldn’t escape trouble in the fourth frame, and junior Emma Wimmer had to come into the game in relief to stop the bleeding. Even a 40-minute weather delay due to thunder and lightning couldn’t cool off Budrewicz and the MacArthur bats.
The Mustangs’ head coach reflected on the impact the team’s three seniors had on the season.
“They left a great mark, a great mark,” Tilton said of the departing group of 12th-graders who helped deliver the first three Suffolk County championships in program history during their tenure. “They’re the foundation of what we’ve built here and hopefully we can continue to do it.”
The Mustangs will be returning all but one starter in 2018, as left fielder Angela Bukofsky is the only regular graduating.
Hailey LaGuidice swings at a pitch. Photo by Alex Petroski
“It definitely means a lot — it’s great,” an emotional Bukofsky said after the game of the three county crowns she’ll be leaving behind at Mount Sinai. She said her teammates were what she will miss most about playing for the Mustangs. “We definitely deserve it. We worked really hard to get here. Going from a record that was about even in wins and losses to being 22-0 is just amazing.”
Though the loss stung in the present, Tilton said he still has a hopeful eye on the future.
“I think we’ve got a really strong team again next year — we’ll be back at it,” he said. Golino and fellow starting pitcher Wimmer dominated all season in 2017 for the Mustangs, and both will be back to try to get over the hump in 2018. Standout shortstop Lové Drumgole, who Tilton called “the real deal,” and one of the best players on the Island earlier in the playoffs, will also be returning for her senior season to give a run at a Long Island title another shot. “We won’t be quitting,” Tilton said. “I can tell you that.”
