Port Washington Struggles in PAL Opening Loss

Despite some good plays, the Port Washington Diamondbacks were bested by the Bellmore Blue Fire, 21-2 at the East Meadow Sports Complex on Tuesday night. The game was the opener for the 10-year old division of the PAL Tournament.

Danielle Elkins, who started for Port Washington, experienced some rough moments, but knows the team can improve.  

"I pitched okay," Elkins said. "We need to hit better and swing at accurate pitches."

Bellmore pitcher Peyton Fishman allowed consecutive RBI doubles to Emma Lupoli and Maura Intemann. Lupoli was happy about the RBI double that she hit off of Fishman in the first inning.

"It was one of my best hits all season," Lupoli said. "It was fun to hit."

Also contributing offensively for Port Washington was Elkins, who scored a run and stole four bases.

Bellmore's Fishman pitched four solid innings. In the second, Bellmore collected seven walks, and that set the stage for some big hits. One of those came from Danielle Polirer, who drove in a run with a single in the second, and also hit a two-run single later that inning.

"I made sure that I hustled to first," Polirer said. "You can never stop running."

Also contributing to the cause in the second was Amanda Maffucci and Kaitlin Maniscalco, who each hit two-run singles. Jeanette Kropp doubled in a run, and Elizabeth Kutil capped things off with an impressively struck two-run triple.

Fishman started for Bellmore, and her control played a big role.

"I pitched really good," Fishman said. "I threw strikes and kept my focus."

Port Washington Coach Rob Elkins knows that there is room for his team to improve.

Though Elkins said the team played one good inning, he added, "We did not throw enough consistently good strikes."

For Bellmore, Coach Joe Maniscalco was proud of how his team rebounded from a loss in their last tournament in Floral Park.

"I have coached a lot of different teams," Maniscalco said. "They get an A for effort."

The tournament, Elkins said, will be "anywhere from 12 to 15" games. Although the schedule has yet to be announced, Elkins claims that the next game will be either Saturday or Sunday. Patch will give updates when information is received.