School softball team wins big in home opener: Defeats cross-bay rival by wide margin
The Shelter Island School softball team won handily in its first home game of the season against Southold/Greenport/Mattituck on Thursday, March 27.
The Islanders won 22-10, with the “mercy rule” taking effect. (The mercy rule allows a game to end early if a team is ahead of its opponent by a large margin after a certain number of innings have been played.)
It was a cold afternoon and early evening, with light falling fast in the early spring day. But the Islanders didn’t let the elements get in the way of notching the victory.
Lili Kuhr started off the game strong with solid and fast pitching, to get the Island athletes ready for the offense. Makayla Cronin subbed in half-way through the game as pitcher, and also made excellent pitches.
In other highlights, catcher Natalie Mamishavili and Makayla Cronin combined for a sparkling play at home to record an out with a runner looking to score. Lily Potter dashed home and made a good slide at the plate just under a tag to score a run. Lauren Gibbs caught a tricky pop-up at second base to secure a third out, which let the Islanders get back into the batter’s box and score their final runs, leading to the mercy rule being called.
You could tell the desire of the team by their aggressive base-running. On defense, they worked well as a team in the field, constantly talking to each other and moving to make sure they were positioned correctly for outs and careful not to overthrow bases to their teammates.
“Overall, it was a great game,” said Coach Lindsay Rando. “Our team worked fast and efficiently to make sure we came out on top with a win. The team didn’t let the cold and the lack of sunlight by 7 p.m. hold them back. They kept playing with full intensity. Everyone contributed. You can see that their time in practice has paid off, and I’m really looking forward to a great season with them.”
The Islanders next home game is Monday, April 7 at 4:40 p.m. against the Ross School. Come out to see a dedicated and talented team take the field.
