Pearl River Softball Blanks Clarkstown North, 2-0

Pearl River scored a run in the top of the first Wednesday at Clarkstown North.

That was all senior pitcher Katie O'Flynn would need as she struck out five while throwing a three-hit shutout in a 2-0 Pearl River victory.

“Katie came up big for us today,” said Pearl River Coach Mike Carlacci. “The team made a couple errors and a few nice plays behind her. She just always keeps her cool.”

Not that it was easy. The Rams loaded the bases in the bottom of the second with no outs. O’Flynn clamped down and didn’t allow the Rams to get on the board.

“The bases were loaded with no outs in the second and we came away with nothing. That obviously hurts. We just didn’t get the timely hits we needed,” said Clarkstown North coach Danielle Trainor.

Seton Hall recruit Danielle DeStaso struck out nine for the Rams, keeping them in the game until the final out.

Clarkstown North's Lauren Navarro was called out at the plate on a play where she actually slid under the tag to end the game. The Rams would have cut the lead in half and had a runner on first with two out in the final frame if she had been called safe. The umpires did not even discuss the play.

“We didn’t hit great today but you don’t really expect to against a pitcher like Danielle (DeStaso)," Carlacci said. "It’s about taking your opportunities when they come your way. We were able to score on one of our opportunities and Katie threw so well, that was enough."

O’Flynn drove in Kristyn Neroda in the first and Neroda drove in Nicole Leote in the third for Pearl River, which improved to 6-0 on the season.

“It is really important that we play our best against tough teams like North,” said O’Flynn. “We got an early lead and it is somewhat calming, but we always talk about playing our absolute hardest until the umpire calls the final out. This was definitely one of our toughest games of the year.”

Despite the loss, the Rams feel good moving forward.

“We knew coming in that today was going to be about making good plays and getting timely hits and we did neither,” said Trainor. “The bases were loaded with no outs in the second and we came away with nothing, that obviously hurts. Pearl River is absolutely a very good team and we will definitely learn from our mistakes.”

“They came out harder than us today,” said DeStaso. “Physical errors will always happen but we made mental errors today and that has to stop. Our team knows that we can’t let things in the past effect us so as long as we come out strong like we normally do, I think we will be just fine.”