By Dylan Butler
The Bayside softball team was a little late arriving at Bayside Athletic Field Friday for its Queens ‘A’ clash with neighborhood rival Cardozo.
That’s because the Commodores, who only managed four hits in a 2-1 loss at John Adams a day earlier, were back at the school working exclusively on hitting drills for a half an hour.
The after-school extra work paid off in a big way as Bayside racked up 16 hits in a 9-1 rout over the Judges.
Every player in the Commodores’ lineup had at least one hit and senior catcher Talia Fromm had two, a pair of mammoth home runs in her first two at-bats, to lead the hit parade.
“We practiced for so long, doing all the drills,” Fromm said. “The mechanics were great today. Today was just a good day. We practiced and we got results.”
Fromm got Bayside (9-2, 4-2 Queens A) going early, smashing Lindsay Rhodes’ first pitch deep to left field for a two-run first-inning home run.
Two innings later Fromm belted her second homer of the game, this time deep to center field to lead off the third inning, to open a three-run inning to put the Commodores ahead, 5-0.
“She hit the furthest shots against the deepest outfield I’ve ever seen here,” said Bayside coach Steve Piorkowski. “When you execute like that, everything works. I can’t be more happy.”
The five-run lead was more than enough cushion for Sapphire Edwards. Despite suffering from heat stroke for two days, the junior hurler was dominant, striking out 13 and allowing just a second-inning infield single to Stefany Weingart.
Edwards’ shutout bid was ruined in the top of the seventh inning when Rhodes, who reached on a leadoff walk, scored on a one-out throwing error by third baseman Gayle Silverstein.
The only time it didn’t appear Edwards and Fromm were in sync was in the third inning when the duo thought Carrie Seidel’s strikeout was the third out. Fromm rolled the ball toward the mound and the two began to walk back toward the Bayside bench before quickly returning, a bit embarrassed.
“I saw Talia throw the ball on the ground, so I thought there must have been three outs,” Edwards said. “It’s a good thing [the Cardozo runner on first base] didn’t know either.”
The Commodores scored three more runs in the fourth inning, on consecutive RBI-singles by Edwards, Kim Hattan and Justine Kraus — three of five hits in the inning.
For Cardozo (2-4 Queens A), losing the game takes a backseat to possibly losing starter Seidel, one of the top shortstops in the city. She left the game after the third inning because of a sore right arm.
“It was sore, but she made the plays,” Cardozo coach Larry Alberts said. “It just got to the point where she couldn’t throw. For Carrie to take herself out of the game, she has to be hurting.”
Flushing 10, Jamaica 6. Rosandy Morel was 3-for-3 with a double and a triple, three runs scored and one RBI, Melanie Castellano was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Jillian Mudryk was 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Flushing (3-2 Queens III-B), which broke the game open with a six-run fourth inning. Jamaica (1-4 Queens III-B) was led by Shawnay Morilla who was 1-for-3 with three RBIs and two stolen bases.
RFK 17, Edison 4. Brittant Purcell went 3-for-4 and pitched a complete game while Jen Giannone went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for RFK (5-0 Queens III-B).
Townsend Harris 11, Bryant 9. Megan Davidow went 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored and Alyssa Wick went 2-for-2 with two runs scored for Harris (3-3 Queens A). Bryant dropped to 3-3.
Francis Lewis 6, Cardozo 0. Alyssa Schneebaum tossed a no-hitter and struck out 12 and Lisa Puccio went 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the Patriots (4-1 Queens A).
Newtown 11, Queens Vocational 1. Monica Pahl struck out nine, belted two home runs and had six RBIs and Ally Zarate went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Newtown (10-5-1, 5-1 Queens II-B).
John Adams 2, Bayside 1. Francesca Romano struck out 12 and allowed four hits in the Spatans (5-2, 3-1 Queens A) win.
Hillcrest 15, Richmond Hill 14. Hillcrest was led by Bernalyn Judan, who had five strikeouts, and Inolie Ponce, who drove in five runs.
The Mary Louis Academy 6, Stella Maris 2. Jennifer McGroarty paced the Hilltoppers with three hits and two RBIs, while teammate Erin Breen added two hits and two RBIs. Mary Louis raised its record to 9-3 overall and 4-0 in league play.
Archbishop Molloy 2, St. John’s Prep 1. The Stanners barely got by the Red Storm thanks to Jaclyn Pizzo racing home from third on Nicole Siegel’s bunt in the fifth inning. Molloy improved to 5-8 overall and 4-2 in the league.
St. Francis Prep 22, St. Agnes 0. Starter Alicia Syrok was masterful for the Terriers, giving up just two hits in the complete-game victory. Michelle Guttierrez was a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBIs.
Preston 8, Archbishop Molloy 5. Amanda Misa picked up the non-league win, striking out eight for Preston.
— Anthony Bosco contributed to this story
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
