WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. May 19, 2005: In perhaps Coach Ted O'Donnell's finest coaching season, his White Plains Tigers behind Kelsey Kulk's steady pitching and three run homer backed by flashing leather work, disposed of Yorktown to win the League 1-B Championship, 6-2 under the softball sun on O'Donnell's Bluff.

Put-It-In-the-Books! Tigers dash off the field celebrating a tie for the  Pennant Wednesday afternoon. They won the title outright when last place Ursuline blasted New Rochelle, 19-4, dropping New Ro out of a first place tie with the Tigers. It is White Plains' 2nd straight League Championship, and 8th crown in 10 years with Coach Ted O'Donnell at the helm. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

Kelsey Kulk, The Incredible Kulk, won her own game with towering clout in the third inning off Roberta Marro, the changing speeds specialist who was popping the Tigers up the first two innings. Erin Cook leading off the Tiger third, singled,  was sacrificed to second by Candice Abbott. Dena Frederick in the lead off spot turned on the pitch sharply and scorched one of the Yorktown third sacker's glove for a tough error and the Tigers had runners on first and third. After Marro fanned the next hitter there were two out and The Kulkster was up.

Here the Yorktown coach made a bad decision, he decided to let Marro pitch to Kulk.

Kulk had already hit a towering can of corn to the rightfield fence in the first inning. On a 2-1 pitch, Kulk got a Marro pitch fat on the bat and drove a majestic fly to dead centerfield, up in the 10 knot northeasterly wind blowing out.

It was drilled. It was deep, would it be downtown?

Back, back, back drifted the centerfielder. She seemed to have it lined up for the catch. It took forever for this ball to come down. Five steps in front of the White Plains Softball Sign she appeared to have it, but the O'Donnell's bluff breeze caught the fly and drifted it over the fence out of the centerfielder's forlorn reach for a three run homer.

Kelsey Kulk Nailing Down the Pennant in the 7th. Dena Frederick's at Third. Ashley Encarnacao at First. Photo by WPCNR Sports

It stayed 3-0 until the last of the sixth when with one out, Christine Younkin walked. Carrie Abbott was safe on another error by the third baser who appeared to have lost her concentration. With runners on second and third, Abbott reaching on the error, Juliana Bailey singled sharply to left through the shortstop hole, scoring Younkin to make it 4-0. Another error at third plated a run to make it 5-0, and Dena Frederick drove in the final run with a single to make it 6-0.

Defense Supports The Kulkster.

The game was highlighted by Bailey in left throwing out a runner trying to move from first to second on a flyball in the second inning when it was still scoreless.

Third Sacker Dena Frederick's snare of a line drive in the 4th with Yorkies on first and second, no one out, converted a double play when she caught the second base runner way off the bag, to break the back of a Yorktown threat. Bailey executed another gem when on a single with a runner on second, Bailey threw the runner out at the plate on the fly. Bailey brought the fans to their feet with another running over-the-head, backhand catch on a dead run in the leftfield corner to save another run in the sixth, retiring the side.

Coming together In Adversity.

In many ways this has to be one of Coach O'Donnell's best coaching jobs. When third sacker and big bat, Danielle Szabo tore a ligament eight games into the season, and players in and out of the lineup,  the coach had to figure a new infield combination and move players around, move the runners, and build runs.

The team responded by learning new positions, each player improving skills and in each game, different players stepped up to make big plays in hard games. The doubleheader win in the Mohawk Valley. The wins against North Rockland, Yorktown, and the outstanding 1-0 win over New Rochelle, when Ashley Encarnacao kept pennant hopes alive with legging out an inside-the-park homer after the famous 4-strike game loss to New Ro, showed great heart, great defense, and perseverence.

Szabo supported the team while rehabbing her injury, keeping score, being there and supporting her teammates, like a fourth coach.

Kulk won her 19th game, which is the most victories in a season ever for a Tiger pitcher. She breaks Kristin Roselli's record, set in 1997.

Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors, left, and WPHS Principal Ivan Toper were at the game viewing the Pennant Winning Game, watching the WPHS "product:"  Photo by WPCNR Sports

Meanwhile in another part of the County... Koalas ROAR, Rip New Ro, 19-4.

New Rochelle took the field against Ursuline, having to win to keep pace with the O'Donnells and hold their first place tie with the Tigers. Ursuline has fallen on hard times winning only 4 of 20 games. New Rochelle had the crafty Jillian Schonberg. However, bad luck took a hand.  

Ms. Schonberg, our New Rochelle on-the-field correspondent reports, took sick before the game, and had a sore arm,

Ursuline pounced on the New Ro back-up pitcher. Here is our New Rochelle correspondent's report from the bleachers:

 "When a pitcher is being roughed up to that extent, the coach needs to shake things up, which he did not do for some reason.  Jillian was sick today.  She was quite ill.  We had the coach's back-up pitcher pitch today, and she was throwing okay, but they hit her. 

We were not on the field, if you know what I mean.  Lots of physical errors, mental errors, misplays. You name it.  Just one of those days.  Four times the shortstop had the ball less than a foot from 2nd base with a force on there, and didn't step on the bag.  PLUS... we couldn't hit their pitchers --- 3 of them!!! 

We sent their first pitcher to the hospital --- ambulance took her, the whole bit --- a pitcher who turned 14 TODAY --- on a bang-bang tag at home by our catcher. 

Then Ursuline brought in their secret weapons... 2 weak lob slingshot pitchers, and we could do nothing."

The Tigers now go to the Sectionals Friday. They win the League B-1 Championship with a 10-1 mark to New Rochelle's 9-2. The Tigers post and overall record of  19-4. But, they have already won in a fine comeback down the stretch. Kulk actually has better than a 19-4 record, with wins over Voorhees and Mechanicsville and Islip, making her22-4.