The battle between the two best teams in Section 1 Class B softball took two days to complete and came down to one half inning that started innocently with a lead off walk.
Despite two hits from Catcher Vanessa Laise and eight strikeouts in six innings from Jessica Calvini, the Rye Neck Panthers were defeated by Dobbs Ferry 3-0 on Monday afternoon in the Section 1 Class B Softball Championship Game.
Rye Neck finished the season with a 17-7 record and has lost in the championship game two years in row.
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The game was originally scheduled to be played at Heroes Field in Nanuet, N.Y. this past Saturday night. But after one inning of play, lightning forced the game to be suspended.
The game was moved to White Plains High School and the teams resumed play in the top of the second.
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Both pitchers, Calvini for Rye Neck and Jacqueline Crews for Dobbs Ferry, were dealing early in the game and it was clear runs were going to come at a premium.
In the bottom of the third Dobbs Ferry had a chance to score first after loading the bases with two outs, but Calvini struck out centerfielder Nikolette Addasio to end the threat.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Dobbs Ferry got the game winning rally started.
A leadoff walk to Crews, followed by a double by third baseman Andrea Abbot, put Calvini in a jam. Shortstop Hayley Douglas followed with a two-run triple to right and gave Dobbs Ferry a 2-0 lead. An RBI groundout closed out the scoring in the fifth, and Dobbs Ferry led 3-0.
Rye Neck Head Coach Joan Spedafino thought that Calvini was still throwing well in the fifth.
"She was still throwing really well, and unfortunately they got a walk and two big hits," Spedafino said.
With the 3-0 lead, Crews settled in and continued to dominate the bats of Rye Neck, only allowing a two-out single in the sixth to Laise. She struck out Nikki Amatuzzo for the final out to give Dobbs Ferry the title.
Only two batters reached second base for Rye Neck in the entire game.
"We just didn't string our hits together," Spedafino said. ""We made contact today and we did some really good things, we did outstanding defensively today and it just came down to two big hits."
The season came to a sudden end for Rye Neck. The Panthers started the season 1-5 and had five one-run losses. But they battled back to finish strong and make it back to the title game, and it was the heart her team showed that really impressed Spedafino.
"I'm so proud of them," she said. "They work so hard on and off the field and they're a great bunch of girls."
