Wantagh Softball Season Ends With Extra Inning Loss at Sewanhaka

The softball team saw its 2011 season come to an end Friday afternoon with a 2-1 extra inning loss at Sewanhaka in the first round of the Class A playoffs.

The Lady Warriors finished the season 8-8 overall after placing third in the League II Conference II standings. Seventh-seeded Sewanhaka advanced to the quarterfinal round over 10^th-seeded Wantagh on a Rachel Wisniewsky walk off single in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Hero- Both pitchers were solid in the circle with Wantagh’s Jaclyn Vicente going 7 ½ innings and only allowing two runs. Her counterpart, Monique Roberge made it tough for Wantagh to generate offense with a complete-game effort of her own. Wisniewsky was the offensive hero for Sewanhaka coming through with the winning hit in the bottom of eighth with a line drive walk off single to left field.

Turning Point- It was a pitchers duel heading into the bottom of the sixth. Vicente was holding Sewanhaka to a scoreless a game when Michelle Mongiello came up to bat. She scorched a ball into the left field gap and Roberge hustled all the way from first to score on the RBI double. Wantagh countered the next inning tying the game on a suicide squeeze. The score remained tied 1-1 until the bottom of the eighth. That is when Rachel Wisniewsky provided the heroics of the day. She stepped up to bat with teammate Gina Cangelosi on base. Wisniewsky ripped a ball down the left field line to score Cangelosi on a walk off single to win.

Quote- Wantagh head coach Christine Moran said, ”They ended their season the way they started their season, with their hearts on the field. They play with a deep passion and I’m very proud of everything they have accomplished. It’s a tough loss for us, but we still hold our heads high.”

Bottom Line- Unfortunately this marks the end of the road for the Wantagh softball team. They played a great season and went down as fighters. Vicente pitched an excellent game and the Warriors all rallied together when they needed to score to force extra innings. Both teams played hard and were deserving of a victory. Sewanhaka will play second-seeded Island Trees in the Class A quarterfinals on Monday at 4:30 p.m.