Seaford Softball Take First Of Three In Class A Finals

Lindsay Montemarano pitched a complete game five hitter, and went 3-4 at the plate Monday, as the Lady Vikings beat top- seeded Plainedge in the opener of the best of three Nassau County Class A championship series.

Seaford posted the 3-1 victory against a team which beat them twice in regular season play, 9-0 and 14-0 -- and which enjoyed ten shut outs and five one run games against the rest of the league.

Victoria Wink contributed two RBIs on 2-3 hitting against the hard throwing Michelle Daubman, and the Lady Vikings got nine hits, including Val Insardi, Caitlin Hewitt and Alex Palazzolo, all of whom got on base safely on squibs in front of the plate that nobody from Plainedge could get a handle on.

“We knew what we would be facing in Daubman, so we practiced by turning the pitching machine to high speed,” said Wink. “We needed it!”

Seaford scored one in the top of the first when Montemaro hit a line drive into the gap and stretched it into a double. Next up was Wink, who drove her in with a single up the middle. Montemarano showed hustle again in the third, stealing second after a single with a ‘hand-in’ slide that got around the shortstop’s tag.

In the fifth, Insardi got on with one out when she outran the defenders on a little spinner that stayed fair in front of the plate. Montemarano slapped a double to bring her home -- and she scored too on a single from Wink.

Meanwhile on the mound, Montemarano prevented Plainedge from registering much of a threat. Aside from a triple in the fourth for McKenna, Plainedge was unable to get a hit off Montemarano until the bottom of the sixth, when they loaded the bases.

But the Lady Vikings kept the damage to a minimum, as Toni Ann Medaglia threw the lead runner out at the plate on a sharp grounder to second. A pop up to short later, and Seaford had gotten out of a sticky inning.

The score was 3-1 going into the seventh but if anyone thought the game was a wrap, they were mistaken. In the seventh, Plainedge staged a two out rally, loading the bases again. But Montemarano got an easy popup, which Medaglia hauled in for the third out and the Lady Vikings win.

In fact, Medaglia was in on all three outs in the seventh -- two ground balls and a popup. On top of her run-saving throw to home in the sixth, quite a day in the field for the tenth grader. “I realized that with the bases loaded, I had to make the plays,” she said. “I’m glad I actually made them.”

Seaford will try and wrap up the Nassau County title today against Plainedge at 4 p.m. at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale. If Plainedge wins it would force a third and deciding game on Thursday.