Schreiber Softball Shut Down By Hicksville

Mercifully, it only lasted five innings.

Unmercifully for the Lady Vikings, there was a reason for that.

The Hicksville offense struck early and often, scoring in each of the first three innings, en route to a 12-0 pasting of Schreiber in Conference III-IV crossover play. The large deficit caused the mercy rule to be invoked, and the game was called after five. It was the third straight loss this week for the Lady Vikings, who fell to 4-4.

After a wild, back-and-forth 12-7 defeat to Great Neck South on Thursday, the outcome on Friday was decided in a hurry. An error and four straight hits gave the Comets a 4-0 lead after one.

Vikings starter Danielle Leibowitz took the loss, going the first four, like she did a day before.

"I think Danielle has been doing a good job throwing strikes," coach Eric Sutz said of his ace. "Just better competition lately, and I think defensively there's been opportunities we could've made plays for her and haven't."

Not that it would have made too much difference on this afternoon, but the Viking defense was shaky, with outfielders struggling to cut off balls in the gap, and infield errors contributing to the Comets' five-run second, putting the game out of reach early.

Hicksville's designated hitter Danielle Delligatti was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, and shortstop Marissa Ciriello added three hits and two RBIs to pace the Comets' attack.

The early hole seemed to carry over at the plate. The Vikings managed only three hits off Hicksville starter Ashley Longo. The lefty struck out five and went the (abbreviated) distance to earn the win for the 7-1 Lady Comets.

"There's always a mental side to the game," Sutz said. "I think also we've had to move some people around due to injuries, never an excuse, just reality."

Schreiber was without starting catcher Jackie Avila and outfielder Aimee Stern.  Despite the lopsided score, Sutz did manage to find a silver lining on a gray, cold day in Port Washington.

"I was proud that the last two innings we shut them out, also the fourth inning we had some hard hit balls," he said. "That shows me they didn't give in — there was no concession by any means."

Of course, 12-0 is what it is, and Sutz said his club is eager to get back to work to try and end its recent slump.

"A lot of the girls are talking about hitting the cage, getting some swings in, continuing to talk as a team out there," Sutz said. "I think that's one of the big factors."

And hopefully the mercy rule won't factor in again.

 The Lady Vikings continue league play Monday at Herricks.

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