And Sunday afternoon at Cardozo High School, the Tigers hit, hit and then hit some more,…
By Joseph Manniello
Before his team batted each inning, Queensborough Community College softball coach Pete Marchitello and his players huddled up and shouted “hits, hits, hits.”
And Sunday afternoon at Cardozo High School, the Tigers hit, hit and then hit some more, sweeping a doubleheader from Ulster, 14-2 and 11-7.
“We can really swing the bats,” Marchitello said. “That’s one of our strengths.”
After Ulster scored on a sacrifice fly in the top of the second, Queensborough (7-1) answered with three runs of its own and then added two more in the third inning, courtesy of a Jillian Grant two-run homer.
Leading 5-2, the Tigers exploded for a five-run fourth, largely due to Ulster’s inability to throw strikes (four walks) and play defense (four errors). Camille Camacho (RBI double) and Paula Uribe (three-run double) continued the onslaught in the mercy-rule shortened game.
“It was a total team effort,” Marchitello said, noting how this year’s squad lacks depth (nine of the 12 players are in their first season). “It was terrific.”
The Ulster hitters, however, struggled and were unsuccessful against Shamika Bolta, one of three team captains, who allowed just four hits and struck out three in Game 1.
The hitting continued and, with quality pitching, the Tigers took Game 2 behind Jamie Bellettini’s five innings of three-run ball.
With Queensborough leading 7-3, Ulster threatened with runners on second and third and no outs in the top of the fifth. But Bellettini, a freshman from Franklin K. Lane, was able to get out of the jam with a strikeout sandwiched between two groundouts.
Bolta relieved her on the mound the following inning, but much to her own surprise, Bolta added insurance for her team at the plate, hitting a three-run blast to put the Tigers up 11-3.
“Shamika is our anchor. She’s our best No. 1 pitcher right now and comes in and closes the doors in Game 2,” Marchitello said. “She’s our seasoned veteran.”
Things did get a little rocky for Bolta in the top of the seventh, as Ulster mustered four runs to cut the lead to 11-7, but that was as close as it would get.
Bolta wasn’t worried. “We knew we had it.”
