In…
By Dylan Butler
When it comes to a coaching philosophy, Bayside softball coach Steve Piorkowski takes a page from big league managers and tells his team to be aggressive at the plate and play smart defensively. He also stresses the importance of playoff softball.
In what has almost become an annual tradition, the Commodores cruised through the regular season, finishing third in Queens III before shifting into a different gear in the postseason. And for a fifth straight year, Bayside is heading to the PSAL semifinals as the 11th seed after crushing division and neighborhood foe No. 3 Cardozo, 10-1 at Clinton High School in the Bronx Tuesday.
“I tell the girls basically, and I probably borrow this from some pro coaches, that the playoffs are a different season,” Piorkowski said. “Every team starts out 0-0. It comes down to preparation and we’ve been preparing for this game, the next game and the championship game all season.”
Cardozo (19-3) coach Larry Alberts is one coach who is all too familiar with Bayside’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine.
“They usually hit their stride in the playoffs,” said Alberts, whose Judges beat Bayside twice in the regular season. “Somehow they glide through the regular season and in the playoffs, they are a different team.”
Bayside will face either No. 7 Francis Lewis or No. 2 Port Richmond, the defending PSAL champion, in the semifinals at the ASA Complex on Staten Island Thursday. A short-lived but drenching rain postponed that quarterfinal game, which was also scheduled at Clinton Tuesday.
The Cardozo/Bayside game, which was also in danger of being postponed, was instead delayed an hour, forcing players from both teams to sit around and wait for the makeshift grounds crew, made up of the Clinton groundskeeper and a couple of volunteers, to whip the field into playable conditions.
The Commodores used the opportunity to relax and to take their minds off the game.
“We were playing around, singing songs,” said Bayside sophomore pitcher Sapphire Edwards who allowed one run on five hits and struck out five. “We just wanted to get out of that mindset of win, win, win. We just had to relax.”
They certainly looked like the calmer team when the game started as the Commodores (23-7) scored two runs on four hits in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead.
The hit parade continued for Bayside in the third inning as Kim Hattan drilled a Josephine Georgio pitch to right field for a two-run single. Back-to-back errors to lead off the fourth inning opened the door for the Commodores in a four-run inning. Edwards, who was 3-for-5 with three RBIs in the clean-up spot, doubled down the line in left, scoring Allie Falco and Talia Fromm.
“We dug ourselves a hole right away,” Alberts said. “They were silly plays. The girls were ready and they were psyched. Things just didn’t pan out for them.”
After Kim Grabkowitz doubled to left, Kim Hattan (2-for-4, three RBIs) singled solidly to center to give Bayside a 7-0 lead. Sam Grabkowitz ended the scoring in the fourth by driving in her twin sister Kim on a groundout to second.
“This is an excellent hitting team one through nine,” Piorkowski said. “I’ve never coached as good a team, offensively at least.”
Bayside also did the job in the field. Undeterred by the slippery outfield grass and the muddy infield, the Commodores made the plays behind Edwards. Some were routine and others, like the 9-3 putout from Kim Grabkowitz to a diving Theresa Mehlig at first that ended the sixth inning, were not.
“We’re used to playing on [bad fields],” Edwards said. “Against Lincoln last week our field was so horrible but we did so well. We did a hell of a job today, it looked like we were playing on a dirt infield.”
Francis Lewis 1, Manhattan Center 0. Alyssa Schneebaum scored the lone run of the game and pitched a two-hitter for the Patriots (17-7) in a second-round game played at Central Park Friday.
Clinton 17, Bryant 4. Lorraine Fuentes had a home run and four RBIs and Jolene Santana had three RBIs to lead No. 12 Clinton (26-3-1) past fifth-seeded Bryant (28-5), a semifinalist last year.
Madison 6, Adams 4. The Spartans, the No. 20 seed, jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning as Michelle Petrosino delivered a big two-run single. But No. 4 Madison (43-5) chipped away at Adams’ lead and went ahead for good with a three-run fifth inning. Adams season ends at 16-4.
Bayside 1, McKee/Staten Island Tech 0. Fromm’s two-out single in the third scored Falco for the game’s lone run as Bayside upset No. 6 McKee/Staten Island Tech (14-6).
Cardozo 14, Lehman 9. The Judges were led by Priscilla Juarez (five RBIs), Jessica Schropfer (three RBIs) and Georgio (two RBIs) who helped to erase an early 5-0 deficit.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
