First Place Out of Reach as Girls Softball Loses to Dobbs Ferry

The girls softball team went into yesterday's game against Dobbs Ferry knowing that first place in the division was on the line.

They also came with the memory of their last encounter with the Eagles, when the Lady Horsemen were trounced 10-0.

"I thought we gave them a better game this time," Coach Tony Milewski said. "If we played flawless it would have been a two-run or one-run game."

But the 11-1 defeat at Dobbs Ferry yesterday was far from flawless.

Milewski said it was one of his team's worst played games of the season. Sleepy Hollow made nine errors, along with five to six mental mistakes that cost runs and base runners. 

"We have a good team, but maybe they put too much pressure on themselves," Milewski said. "They really wanted to show they could compete with the elite, but they aren't there yet."

The game started off with Dobbs Ferry's star pitcher Jacqueline Crews shutting down the first three batters in Sleepy's lineup. 

When the Eagles came to bat in the bottom of the first, they scored first off a double by Hayley Bingham. Bingham would later score off an infield grounder and a bobbled play at the plate to put Dobbs Ferry up 2-0. 

Despite Dobbs Ferry's initial strike, the following innings were relatively hard fought. Tough pitching by Jamie Bucci and good defense kept the Eagles from scoring for the next three innings, despite numerous Eagles base runners. Even the errors that the Lady Horsemen made in those innings seemed to go their way.

"There were a lot of mental errors, but we got a lot of breaks too," Milewski said, citing numerous times that dropped balls and bad throws allowed Sleepy to tag out a Dobbs Ferry runner trying to capitalize on the error. 

Hollow also ended each at bat with at least one runner stranded on base. Jessica Campbell, Jennifer Onwe, Jamie Bucci and Brittany Brand all had hits in the first four innings. 

But then things started to go downhill for the girls. 

"We had a terrible fifth inning, the sixth inning was horrible," Milewski said.

The Lady Horsemen notched their only run in the top of the fifth, but the Eagles responded, scoring three additional runs in the bottom of the inning. The Eagles then held Sleepy stagnant in the sixth inning, before bringing out the bats and scoring six runs. Errors and poor fielding decisions all helped contribute to the Eagles burst toward the end of the game.

"When you play teams like Dobbs Ferry, Pearl River and Eastchester, you have to bring your A game," Milewski said. "It could have been different if we played the way we are capable of."

Still, the girls, who fall to 9-3 on the season, have a good shot at finishing the rest of their games strong and securing a high seed in the playoffs. 

"I think we have the capability to win every game we have left," Milewski said. "I think they can all be W's if we work hard."

Both the girls softball team and the boys baseball team will next face off against their Hackley counterparts at Losee Park in Tarrytown on Friday, starting at 6:30 p.m.