On Saturday at St. John’s, Castellucci pitched in another ‘A’ title game,…
By Mitch Abramson
Allison Castellucci pitched a two-hitter in last year’s PSAL ‘A’ softball championship game, but the effort was wasted because Tottenville didn’t score any runs, and she lost 1-0.
On Saturday at St. John’s, Castellucci pitched in another ‘A’ title game, this time against Francis Lewis and the senior gave up six hits and two runs and had to pitch herself out of several jams.
She didn’t have to be perfect because the top-seeded Pirates gave her plenty of offense to win 8-2 in their third straight trip to the finals.
Castellucci, as cool as they come when it comes to big games, pitched in all of the final appearances — the first was an 8-6 loss to Francis Lewis — and admitted, ever so slightly as if afraid to tip her pitches, that revenge was a factor in her sub-par performance.
The pitcher with a 9-0 regular season record and 0.24 earned run average, who came in against Bayside in the semifinals and blew away the side to end the game, tensed up a little in the final, showing that she is human after all.
“Allison pitched well, but I’ve seen her pitch better,” said Tottenville second-year coach, Cathy Morano. “It may have been nerves. We have been trying to get this [championship] for a long time. Francis Lewis was hitting the ball well and they were able to get runners on base. Thankfully, we got some breathing room.”
The Patriots, who profited from Townsend Harris’ miscues in the quarterfinals, found themselves giving away runs because of errors Saturday. On a day when Castellucci was not at her best and Francis Lewis was making contact, the Patriots turned in a hard fought but messy performance.
Tottenville (28-3) scored three unearned runs in the second inning, the first on a botched fielding play and the rest on errors that allowed runners to reach base who later scored. Tottenville’s only legitimate run came on a single that plated a runner who reached base on a hit to lead 4-0.
“We didn’t make some plays today,” said Francis Lewis’ second-year coach, Manny Solomon. “This team wasn’t intimidated by anyone today. [Castellucci] was hittable, but we we’re supposed to get the fielding to back up the offense, and then we left quite a few people on base today.”
Francis Lewis (24-8) stranded 11 runners, two in the critical fourth when the Patriots mounted a comeback down 5-0. Junior Stephanie Alves and Jessica Payero, a sophomore, singled to reach base, and Eldina Derisevic blooped a single into right with the bases loaded to score Alves.
Second basemen Victoria Roomet drove in Payero on a ground out to second to make it 5-2, but Castellucci struck out two batters with runners aboard to end the inning.
The Patriots threatened again in the top of the fifth when Catherine Alves, who walked to lead off the inning, tried to score, but Alves was thrown out at home by right fielder Tara Dalton in a collision with the catcher that left Alves laying motionless for several moments.
After Tottenville added three runs on two errors in the bottom of the fifth, Alves returned in the seventh where she reached first on a error to put runners on first and second. Castellucci unglued herself from that jam as well by getting a pop-up to end the game.
“A lot of people didn’t think we could make it this far,” said Francis Lewis’ starting pitcher Jennifer Smith, who remained upbeat following the loss. “We played our hearts out, and we wanted to show people that we deserved to be here.”
Reach reporter Mitch Abramson by E-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300 Ext. 130.
