Bayside Aims High

If ever there were a time for Bayside to mail it in, that moment would have been last Wednesday afternoon. They had already clinched the Queens I-A division crown, their third in a row. Their ace right-hander, Nicole Marra, was struggling. After a hot start, they were not hitting Tina Deluca, Francis Lewis’s tough windmill pitcher, either. The Commodores trailed the Patriots by two runs going into the sixth inning.
Yet, they managed to rally for three runs in that frame and for another five in the ninth, paving the way to their second consecutive undefeated league season.
“We,” Marra said, explaining their resolve, “like to fight.”
It is that grittiness, more than Marra’s strong right arm, a tenacious offensive attack and stout glove work in the field that can make the Commodores legitimate city championship contenders. Seeded fourth in the upcoming city playoffs, Bayside is far from the favorite - top-seeded and defending champion Tottenville looms as a potential semifinal opponent, as was the case last spring - but there isn’t one aspect of their game in which they have yet to thrive.
“Out of all the teams that I’ve coached, these guys have done everything,” Bayside Coach Stephen Piorkowski said. “They’ve dominated, they’ve hit their way out of problems, and the pitching has taken care of business, same with the catching and defense. You name it, we have done it, and that is why we keep winning. Whether or not that continues through the elite of the PSAL, I do not know. That is a very good question. We can compete absolutely.”
Added catcher Danielle Brustmeyer: “We’re all striving for that, little by little, day by day; we’re working on that championship. We see it. It is right there. We got to go for it.”
The Commodores have built up a quiet confidence. When they trailed the Patriots, there were no worries. It was the same scenario in the seventh when Francis Lewis got even, and had the winning run 90 feet away.
“We’re used to a lot of pressure,” Brustmeyer said. “We understand what we have to do in certain situations.”
“They are a mentally tough team,” Francis Lewis Coach Bryan Brown said.
Added Piorkowski: “None of these kids get down, they just keep battling. It comes from a desire to win, a belief that if we execute it is going to happen. I have learned as a coach to be more process oriented than results oriented. We’re just making adjustments.”