Pelham Daily Sports Digest: Pelham Softball Preview

Coaches, Parents and Boosters, Please send scores and information to HVDailySportsDigest@gmail.com immediately following every game.

 

The Top Spot:

Head Coach Keith Maley and the Pelham Softball team finished 15 and 7 last season and lost in the section semifinals to Pearl River. The Pelicans are returning an experienced team and the sky is the limit for them this season.

Recently Patch caught up with Coach Maley to discuss this year’s team.

 

Patch: As far as age and, more importantly experience goes, what type of team do you expect to have this season?

Coach Keith Maley: Eight of the 12 girls on the team are seniors, this is a big year. A lot of experience and a lot of changes next year.

 

Patch: What were some of the weaknesses your team had last year that you hope to improve upon this season?

Coach Maley: The biggest thing is I think we can play more consistently especially against those top teams.

 

Patch: Who are some of your returning players coming back who you see being big contributors?

Coach Maley: Five all league players, Kelly Keith senior pitcher and all leaguer player. Meghan Reynolds senior shortstop, all-league, all section honorable mention, she’ll be playing next year at the College of Saint Rose. Catcher, Samthantha Wright, all section honorable mention, all league, all league. first basemen Caitlyn Hearle, Centerfielder Caitie Nesi both were all league.

 

Patch: Who are some of your new players you are expecting to thrust into a larger role on the team?

Coach Maley: Two new players Ellen Gardon sophomore third base/ catcher, she’s a middle of lineup hitter. Drue Robertson is a sophomore corner outfielder. Both will get a lot a playing time even though they are rookies on the team.

 

Patch: How has the team been preparing in the off-season?

Coach Maley: We scrimmaged Rye Neck who was in the class B finals. First game action for Keith and she pitched very well. We do stuff all year long, summer ball fall ball, open gyms all winter and they hit one night a week. 

 

Patch: What are your goals for the season as a team?

Coach Maley: We want to win the league championship, haven’t won it in the last two years. They like the final four but they know that they are good enough to beat those top tier teams. With an older team this is the last time they will play softball together or play softball period. They have been playing together since the third grade so this is it for them.

 

Patch: Are there one or two games circled on the schedule this season?

Coach Maley: We always try and put in the top teams in Class A, Eastchester, Pearl River, Harrison, Valhalla, those are probably the top teams on the schedule.

 

Patch: What are you personally looking forward to this season?

Coach Maley: I love this group of girls. From The seniors on down this is a great group of girls. This time of year I really get charged up.

 

Yesterday’s Results:

Sport: Baseball

Game: Pelham vs. White Plains

Score: Pelham Won 8-0

Highlights: Gjon Ljucovic picked up his first win of the season as he and David Wright combined to hold White Plains hitless. Ljucovic went six innings and struck out five before Wright came in for the final three outs. This was the first no-hitter since the early 1990’s for Pelham.

 

Sport: Softball

Game: Pelham vs. Sleepy Hollow

Score: Pelham Won 17-2

Highlights: Kelly Keith picked up eight strikeouts in seven innings for the win and she went 3-5 from the plate with three RBI and she scored three times.

 

Sport: Girls Lacrosse

Game: Ardsley vs. Pelham

Score: Pelham Won 20-9

Highlights: Mallory Brown scored seven times and Isabel Laterzo scored five times as Pelham won with ease. Laura Gabow had five saves.

 

Today’s Schedule:

In baseball, Pelham heads to Byram Hills at 4:30 p.m.

In golf, Pelham will host Sleepy Hollow at the Pelham Country Club at 4 p.m.

 

College Sports Notebook:

Manhattan Hopes to Bounce Back

The Manhattan College women’s lacrosse team, coming off a loss to Canisius in both teams’ Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener, looks to bounce back tonight when it hosts conference rival Marist College at Gaelic Park at 7 p.m.

Senior attacker Chrissy Gutenberger of Stony Point scored three goals while Donna Jo DiNorcia of Vernona, NJ, and Kelsey Rehain of Suffern each notched two tallies in a 17-9 setback to Canisius.

Canisius (4-5) scored the first five goals of the contest before senior BrieAnna Spatarella of Rocky Point put the Jaspers on the board with a goal at the 16:06 mark of the first half.

Junior midfielder Amanda Tuck of Mamaroneck has 13 points on 11 goals and two assists for Marist (2-9).

 

Setters Bow in Lacrosse

Matt Mirabito of Binghamton lifted his team-high points total to 17, but the Pleasantville University men’s lacrosse team was tripped by Saint Anselm College, 6-5, in a Northeast-10 Conference game in Manchester, NH.

Tom Murphy of Yonkers has five points on four goals and as assist for the Setters (2-5), who return to action today when they host American International College at 4 p.m. at Pace Field on the Pleasantville campus.  

Freshman midfielder Freddie Wright of Mahopac is being eased into action, and has played in two games.

 

Mortarboard musings

• Eastern Connecticut State beat Springfield College in a nonconference double header yesterday 4-1 and 4-0. Ashley Marino (Harrison) took the loss in the first game. Marino now stands at 4-4 on the year and on March 26 the sophomore was named the NEWMAC Pitcher of the Week after throwing her first collegiate no-hitter, the first for the Pride since 2008.
• Senior attack Sandra Mastrangelo of White Plains is a member of the Brown University women’s water polo team (14-12), which visits Connecticut College (1-4) in New London today at 8 p.m.
• Westlake graduate Andrew Mancusi went 3 for 4, and Croton-Harmon alum Greg Carroll hurled a five-hitter as the Westchester Community College baseball team beat Ulster CC, 6-2, for its eighth straight victory. The Vikings visit the Borough of Manhattan CC today at 3:30 p.m., and on Thursday welcome Dutchess CC to Valhalla, also at 3:30 p.m.
• The Manhattanville College baseball team, coming off a 10-0 loss to the Alvernia Crusaders, continues their non-conference schedule this afternoon against former Skyline Conference rival Old Westbury at 4 p.m. in Purchase. The Valiants are 8-9 all told, and 4-5 in the Freedom Conference.
• The Iona College softball team won a pair of games against Hartford last night. The Gaels beat the Hawks 7-1 in the first game and 3-1 in the second.
• At the 2011-2012 Western New England basketball awards Harrison’s own Dennis Rinaldi won the WNE Coach Bill Downes Award. In his sophomore season Rinaldi averaged eight points and six rebounds in 25 minutes a game. Rinaldi started all 26 of the Golden Bears Games.

 

Weekly Sports Poll:

The last five times Kentucky won the National Championship the Yankees responded and won the World Series. Last week’s poll ask who would win the Final Four in New Orleans and the Patch public correctly over Kansas, Ohio State and Louisville. This week’s sports poll deals with the start of baseball season and we are asking you ?

 

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