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WPCNR PRESS BOX. June 1, 2006: Erin Cook lead off third with the pitch. There was one dead in the Tigers' last of the eleventh. Arlington's Kaitlyn Schell delivered a high strike and Tiger Carrie Abbott squared for the safety squeeze of her softball career. She flared the pitch in the air with a little drift, a little English, a little radar, something on it, up up just over the glove of Schell and too far in front of the Arlington shortstop who punched the air in frustration.
Cook held up as the ball agonizingly began its flight. When Erin saw the yellow floater was going to kiss O'Donnell's Bluff infield dirt, just behind the circle and to the left, she dashed home to score the winning run in a fastpitch classic in the gloaming sending the White Plains Softball Team to the Section Final for the first time ever.
CRISIS IN THE 7TH. It Could Be. It Might Be. It's Not: With 2 out and the score 0-0, Arlington's Catcher Emmy Goldstein has just blasted a screamer deep to right, and is rounding first. The blast, hardest hit ball of the day looked gone, but the strong West wind held it up. The yellow screamer has just landed inches from the fence in straightaway right. As rightfielder Juliana Bailey retrieves, Danielle Szabo races to second to take the throw. Goldstein had to hold at second on the Bailey relay, but Arlington could not capitalize. Photo, WPCNR Sports.
Kelsey Kulk, Tiger ace matched Arlington's classy righthander Kaitlyn Schell inning after inning, as each pitcher handcuffed the hitters. Anyone who saw this doozy of a ball game will never forget it. Sandra Mastrangelo had tied the game in the last of the 10th with a slash shot off the first base baseperson to tie the game 1-1, keeping the Tigers alive. |
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This was a classic pitcher’s duel. Kulk retired the first seven Admirals she faced before giving up a hit in the fourth inning, and never faced a threat until the seventh. She righted herself after 2 fourth inning singles, and retired 11 in a row until there were two out in the seventh. In the seventh, with the score tied 0-0, with 2 out, a long double to right set the Admirals up to score but Kulk fanned the fifth place hitter to get to the bottom of the seventh.
Schell was equally overpowering in the clutch snuffing Tiger runners on second in the third, the fourth and the fifth, thanks to a great snag by the firstbaser off a Dena Frederick liner in the fifth. In the seventh Lisa Tompkins singled for the Tigers, but the Tigers could not push across the winner, when a checked swing was called a third strike, stranding a Tiger on third, much to the crowd of over 150 persons' displeasure.
Into eighth they played under threatening skies. Arlington did not threaten. The Tigers went 1-2-3 and the teams played into the 9th. Arlington went 1-2-3. The Tigers scratched a runner to third, but could not break through in the last of the 9th. With the winning run on third and two out after Kelsey Kulk had worked a 3-2 walk in a 10 pitch at-bat, stole second and moved to third the Tigers could not cash in.
The International Tiebreaker was invoked in the 10th. Arlington scored on a sacrifice and a grounder to first to make it 1-0, and the Tiger hopes looked dark as the skies. But the Tigers came back for the second time in a week. Jackie Flooks sacrificed the runner on second to third and Sandra Mastrangelo, last Saturday’s heroine went with a Schell pitch sharply down first base line that hit just to the right of the firstbaser and skidded quickly into right field allowing Juliana Bailey, pinchrunning to score from third to tie it 1-1.
On to the 11th: With the Arlington tie-breaker runner on second, the leadoff batter got the bunt down but was ruled to have been hit by the bunted ball. She was out. Dead ball. The runner had to return to second. A huge play, as it turned out, because the next batter grounded to short, and might have scored the runner. The Tigers Kulk fanned the last hitter.
The Tigers won the darn thing with clouds gathering, and dinners getting cold.
Dena Frederick, first up, with Erin Cook on second aggressively bunted the first pitch. Cook was off at the crack of the bat and reached third. Pitcher Schell had no play on Cook and just did get Frederick at first. One out.
Up came senior Carrie Abbott. The pitch came in and up. Abbott stuck the bat out bunting and pushing it with authority, and flared the ball over the pitcher’s head. The gamer fell to infield earth as Cook crossed the plate with winning run. Big time noise broke out on O'Donnell's Bluff!
Kelsey Kulk did not walk a batter this afternoon, and fanned 10 Arlington hitters, scattering 3 hits. Arlington’s Kaitlyn Schell was equally masterful, walking 1 and striking out 7, giving 3 singles.
Great plays, lots of them. The Tigers played flawlessly in the infield. Ashley Encarnacao made stretch after incredible stretch at first on balls fired low, to just get Arlington runners. Jackie Flooks, who has to be the best leftfield in the Section in my opinion – nobody plays left like she does, speed, judgment and arm-- made a shoestring catch in the first to stop Arlington from getting the lead runner on to start the game. Danielle Szabo made a super backhand catch in the hole on a line drive, and fielded every hard shot Arlington hit her way. Catcher Sandra Mastrangelo exploded out behind the plate to field bunts, (there were a lot of bunts in this game), and catch 3 foul pops. Huge. Easily the most athletic catcher we've seen in years.
