As the number-five seed going up against the number-one seed and undefeated League II powerhouse Bay Shore in the semifinal round of the Suffolk Class AA playoffs, the Sachem East softball team simply wasn't destined to chalk up another 'W' without a fight. Especially on Bay Shore's field, where honors and plaques from nearly three decades of state-caliber ball hang silently taunting from the infield fence and the exterior wall of the visiting team's dugout.
East hung tough throughout, but the heavy-hitting Marauders, occasionally seizing opportunities off errors, lurched ahead to hand East a 6-2 heartbreaker in single-elimination play, thus ending the Arrows' playoff run.
East coach Ralph Forman was gracious in defeat, praising Bay Shore for its consistency and his own squad for staying in the fight with a brief sixth-inning comeback that loaded the bases and allowed Jess Caturano to score East's final run thanks to Kellie Zeitler's sacrifice.
"They're definitely the best team in the state, and they just capitalized," he said. "But we battled back, we didn't just quit."
Down two runs at the end of the first, East tightened up its fielding in response - second baseman Amber O'Malley stopped a line drive for the first out, pitcher Lindsey Treanor struck out the second batter and right fielder Jess Caruano caught the final out on the third attempt.
Three up and three down for the first two frames, East's offense finally sprang to life with a single from Samantha Laird, who scored two at-bats later on Caruano's RBI single - nearly a fly out in left field were it not for a sudden and very lucky gust of wind that appeared to be knocked out of the fielder's reach.
Defensive breakdowns came shortly thereafter in the fifth, shoring up Bay Shore's lead off a three-run rally. The Marauders drew a walk and sacrificed a batter to advance the baserunner, rounding all bases two singles later to score, followed closely by a single and two one-run doubles, finally capping its game off in the sixth with a one-run single. A vicious rundown ensued on a Shore batter between the first and second bases after the winning run, finally ruled safe at first after nearly 20 seconds of evasion to noticeable disapproval by East supporters.
Few eyes remained dry after suffering the loss, but the bump from postseason contention brings about a particularly bittersweet end for the team's seniors.
"We had our ups and downs," said Caturano, a senior shortstop, as she looked back to consider how far they'd come. "But without each teammate, we couldn't have gone this far. There wasn't one kid that didn't put in 100 percent every day."
