Mamaroneck Softball Ready for Postseason

After finishing the regular season with a solid 13-6 record, Mamaroneck's girls softball team will travel to East Fishkill on Friday to face off against the Patriots of John Jay in the opening round of the sectional playoffs.

The 10th seeded Tigers enter the playoffs having won four out of their last five games, including an extra-innings thriller against White Plains (16-4) and a win in the bottom of the 7th inning against New Rochelle (12-7).

The victory over White Plains—the team's first in over six years—will go a long way in boosting Mamaroneck's confidence and showing the Tigers they can compete with anybody.

Mamaroneck head coach Diane Campbell has already spent time scouting Friday's opponent, and is optimistic about her team's chances. Still, she knows all too well that at this point in the year there are no bad teams.

"They're a decent team," she said regarding the Patriots. "I take that for granted at this point in the season. The teams get better as the season goes on."

Mamaroneck prides itself on having faced tough competition all year, including two games against White Plains, Ursuline (17-3), and Scarsdale (13-6). Five of the Tigers' six losses this season came against those three teams, and although most of those games were not close, they will undoubtedly serve as important learning experiences for Mamaroneck.

"At the beginning of the season everyone wasn't so eager to get out there and play," said senior captain Emily Silver, who starts at third base. "But as we started winning some tough games we began to see our potential and really started to put our heart into it. I think if we can stay focused and confident that we can win, then we will."

As far as coach Campbell is concerned, the team knows very well what it has to do to succeed in the playoffs.

"We need to play good defense," Campbell explained. "I tell our girls all the time, 'the team that plays the best defense wins the game.' That's what happened against White Plains."

Campbell has yet to decide who will be pitching against John Jay, although it will most likely be either Caitlin Plaut or Sammy Gitlin.

Gitlin is 7-4 with a 2.97 ERA and Plaut is 6-1 with a 1.35 ERA. Offensively, Mamaroneck will look to Emily Silver and junior centerfielder Danielle DeAndrea for strong contributions. The pair has been the Tigers' best hitters all season, combining for 37 hits and 37 RBI in 19 games.

"I definitely think that we are all eager to get out there and win," Silver said. "Sometimes it's been an issue that we've kind of psyched ourselves out. But we know we have a good chance and everyone is really excited to play."