F & A Wins Second Consecutive Championship

F & A won their second consecutive Rye Recreation Women's League championship 14-3 Tuesday at Rye Recreation Park.

The Pub Ryots led 1-0 through the first inning until F & A scored two more runs to lead 3-1 in the top of the second.

F & A controlled the game until the Pub Ryots ran in three runs to trail 8-3 after four innings.

F  & A continued to hold their own for the eventual 14-3 victory and back-to-back championship.

Pub Ryots Coach Mary Slater did not play because of a knee injury sustained in the first game of the series Monday, in which the Ryots lost 7-1.

But Slater cheered on and coached her fellow teammates.  

"They had a couple good innings otherwise we would've taken the win," she said.

The Pub Ryots won their first game in 10 years this season, which culminated  in their second trip to the final round of the playoffs. The team last reached the finals their first year in the league, 25 years ago. 

F & A's Christina Gallinari said despite her team's 14-3 victory, the Ryots were tough competitors.

"They gave us a run for our money," she said.

Coach Jill Rabius said F & A's large 7-1 lead in the top of the fourth set the tone for the rest of the game. Her fellow teammates hard hitting and fielding midway through the game led to their comfortable lead.

"Once we got a distant lead, the momentum was more in our favor," she said.

F & A have now won back-to-back championships the past two years. The team lost to Poppy's Ballbusters in 2007 and 2008. Before those consecutive losses, F & A won five straight championships from 2002 to 2006.

Rabius pitched seven innings for F & A, walking no batters and garnering no strikes.

The Pub Ryots Eileen Coughlin walked four batters, striking out no batters in seven innings pitched.

F & A finishes the season with a final record of 13-1. The Pub Ryots end at 5-11.