Giordano powers softball team to winning season
Continued on page 12
by Rob Caluori
When looking at a team’s body of work, it is usually viewed as a collective effort, but the review of this year’s Croton-Harmon High School girls softball team screams one central focal point – Megan Giordano.
Never in the history of the Tigers has one single eighth grader exercised so much dominance on team play, while striking fear in the hearts of the opposition’s pitcher than Giordano. Not yet even in the high school ranks, Giordano brought home run power and a skill at the plate that has marveled everyone who has seen her play to date.
Of course, for the Croton-Harmon team, it was first about growing pains and it took a while, but the first victory of the season was finally achieved when the Tigers beat Blind Brook 14-3. Two days later, Croton- Harmon made it two in a row, beating Byram Hills, 11-9, and from that point on the team was on a roll.
Playing on the road in their fourth game of the year, the Tigers secured their first victory of the season, winning in a romp on April 8. Croton-Harmon banged 12 hits and used a six-run third inning scoring barrage to take control of the game and ultimately secure the win. Giordano showed some immense power at the plate, going 4 for 5 on the day and blasting three home runs. Giordano had four RBI and scored five runs.
After a scoreless second inning, Croton- Harmon scored six runs in the top of the third inning, while holding the home team scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning where they tacked on a solo run. Croton-Harmon increased its lead in the game with two runs in the top of fourth and fifth innings to take a 12-2 advantage.
Amanda Strobl contributed two hits and two RBI the Croton-Harmon win, while Aria Hartwig had an RBI. Emily Kehoe went 2 for 5 with three runs scored and Karina Matalavage hit a single and scored two runs. Anna Rakotz had two hits for Croton-Harmon, while Maggie Roberto scored two runs. Emily Hoffman hit a single for the Tigers and scored a run, while Emily Squire scored a run as well.
On April 10, the Tigers traveled to Byram Hills, where they engaged in a spirited series of innings that ultimately resulted in the Croton-Harmon winning. After playing to a 3-3 first inning tie, Croton-Harmon added a run in the top of the third inning and then two more in the fourth to take a 6-3 lead. However, Byram Hills was not ready to lie down just yet and rallied back in the bottom of the fifth inning with six runs to take a 9-6 lead.
Giordano continued to display her power at the plate, hitting her fourth home run in two day and was 2 for 5 on the day with three runs and three RBI. Kehoe had two hits, an RBI and scored a run.
Trailing 9-6, the Tigers rebounded in the top of the sixth inning with four runs to re-capture the lead at 10-9. Croton-Harmon would add a solo run in the seventh inning to lock up the victory.
Matalavage hit a single for Croton- Harmon, while Hartwig struck out three Byram Hills batters and was the winning pitcher. Franki Primeggia hit a single and scored two runs, while Rakotz had two hits and Roberto hit a single.
Alexander Hamilton was next on the slate for the Croton-Harmon on April 22, and unfortunately, the two teams on managed to complete just the first inning of the game, leaving the Tigers short of winning the game even though they held an early lead.
After taking a 4-3 lead, the umpire ended up calling the game during the second inning because of the rain, the resulting outcome was that the Tigers had to strand runners with bases loaded and one out.
On the down side, the very next day provided good weather to play Putnam Valley, but the Tigers could not carry over their play from previous day, losing a game they were winning, taking a 19-14 defeat. However, this year’s Croton-Harmon squad is a resilient bunch and the crushing loss only inspired the Tigers to work even harder.
“Our team proved to be resilient and came back today and mercied Keio at Keio with a 21-3 win in 6 innings,” Croton-Harmon head coach, Kerri Tracy said of the Tigers win over Keio Academy.
“Our girls looked crisp today, both offensively and defensively. Our goal this season is aggressive at-bats and crisp plays defensively, which both came to fruition in today’s game,” said Tracy.
In the road game against Keio, the Tigers banged out 16 hits and used both spectrums of the team’s composition to rise to the occasion of romping over the home team.
The trio of eighth graders, Giordano, Kehoe and Matalavage combined for eight of the 16 hits and 14 of the 21 RBI in the game. The veterans of the team were just as impactful on the outcome of the game, with seniors Primeggia, Strobl and Rakotz combining for six hits and three RBI.
After playing to a 3-3 first inning tie, Croton-Harmon’s starting pitcher, Hartwig, shutdown Keio’s hitters and did not allow another run the rest of the way for the win. The Tigers hitters scored 10 runs over the next three innings of play and then put the game to bed with an eight-run sixth inning barrage that caused the mercy rule to imposed.
Giordano, who scored four runs, went a perfect 4 for 4 with five RBI for Croton- Harmon, while Kehoe was 2 for 5 with five RBI and a run scored. Matalavage was 2 for 6 with three runs scored and four RBI. Rakotz added to the scoring total with two RBI on two hits and scored three runs, while Primeggia, who scored three runs, hit an RBI single as part of her two hits on the day. Strobl scored five runs and had two hits to round the effort by the seniors.
Sarah Latimer contributed a single to the Tigers success over Keio, while Emile Squire hit a single and scored a run. Roberto rounded out the totals with a run scored.
In other action on the road during the week, Croton-Harmon established a 15-4 lead during the five innings of play and appeared to have the Putnam Valley bats under control. However, the home team exploded on offense in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring 10 runs and then added six more in the sixth frame to complete the come-from-behind victory.
Giordano continued to yield a hot bat for Croton-Harmon and hit yet another home run, while driving in two and scoring three runs. Primeggia hit an RBI single and scored three runs, while Kehoe was 2 for 4 with a run scored. Matalavage had a fine day at the plate for the Tigers and went 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Hartwig was on the mound for Croton-Harmon and she went six innings as the pitcher of record.
As the season progressed, the Tigers soon learned that there are some teams that are just a joy to play against. This is mainly because they help improve the win-loss column numbers, not to mention raising batting averages.
For the Tigers, it was Keio Academy that made team a little better, and after playing them again on April 28, the 13-10 victory gave the squad a winning record for the season at 5-4 overall.
But the fun did not end there, because the Tigers played host to the Strike Out Breast Cancer game, where parents of the players ran a concession and held a 50/50 raffle to raise monies for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
With the good cause occurring in the backdrop, the Tigers took center stage against Blind Brook and completed the feel-good day with an 8-3 victory to expand the season’s winning record to 6-4 after 10 games.
In the game against Keio, The Tigers, who had 16 hits in the game, jumped out to a 9-1 advantage to take a commanding lead. Hartwig was starting pitcher for Croton-Harmon and went the distance for the victory. Giordano continued to lead the Croton-Harmon team in hitting and scored her 10th home run of the season. After being walked intentionally walked in her first at-bat, Giordano, who had two RBI, hit a single and double, before providing a blast to right field for an inside the park home run.
Rakotz was also an influential contributor for Croton-Harmon, going 3 for 5 with three RBI and two runs scored.Matalavage drove scored. Strobl went 2 for 4 with three runs scored, while Kehoe had two hits and RBI. Hoffman singled and scored a run, while Roberto hit a single.
In the Blind Brook game, Giordano once again led the Croton-Harmon batters with her power hitting and blasted her 11th home run of the season, while going 3 for 4 with four RBI and four runs scored.
With Hartwig handling the pitching duties, Croton-Harmon scored two runs in the first and third inning of the game to stake her to a 4-1 lead. Hartwig then did the rest, shutting down the Blind Brook batters the rest of the game until the top of the seventh inning where she surrendered two runs before securing her sixth victory of the year.
The Tigers, who were dressed in pink uniforms for the day, added four runs to the total in the bottom of the fifth inning, getting scoring assistance from Squire, who hit a single for two RBI. Hoffman went 2 for 2, while Primeggia was 2 for 4 with two runs scored. Strobl and Rakotz had a hit and scored a run apiece.
With the playoffs looming on the horizon, the Croton-Harmon was working hard to secure a solid post season position that will provide for the best opportunity to succeed. Over the course of their last three games, the Tigers turned some heads, improving to 8-5 overall, winning two of three games in a four-day span. Croton-Harmon experienced the worst of the three games early on when Ossining handed the Tigers a 21-4 loss.
Despite the anguish of a 10-run fifth inning that essentially ended the game against Ossining, Croton-Harmon did have a few high notes occur, with Giordano going 3 for 3 with a double and her 12th home run of the season, Rakotz hit an RBI single and Primeggia scored two runs.
After the Ossining game, it was all good news for the Tigers, with the team scoring an 11-7 victory over Blind Brook on May 6. Croton-Harmon then carried out a successful continuation of the Alexander Hamilton game that postponed, by taking an 11-7 win.
In the Blind Brook game, the Tigers took an early 4-3 first inning lead before the two teams played even until the sixth inning. Playing at home, the Tigers reeled off four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for the victory.
Giordano led the offense for the Tigers with two doubles, an RBI while scoring four runs. Rakotz was 2 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Primeggia, who scored two runs, hit a single. Strobl also hit a single and scored two runs. Hartwig was the winning pitcher for the Tigers.
In the Hamilton game, the Tigers overcame a 6-6 tie in the second inning to roar ahead, scoring five runs over the course of three innings to win easy. Giordano drove in three runs and was 3 for 3 with two runs scored, while Rakotz was 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Hartwig was the starting pitcher for the Tigers and went the distance for her eighth win of the season. Roberto contributed a single and scored two runs, while Squire scored a run and Strobl scored two runs.
After establishing a 10-1 league record, the Tigers continued to impress, this time around rallying from a 5-5 sixth inning tie to take a 9-5 victory over Alexander Hamilton on May 12. Two days later, the Tigers went from the dramatic to the other extreme, only this time the outcome was a game-shortened mercy rule ending, with Croton-Harmon winning in a blowout, 20-5.
“The team overall showed gumption when they had a two-out rally in the sixth inning,” Tracy said of the performance of the Tigers in the first game against Hamilton. “With two outs and no one on base, we ended up scoring four runs.”
As it turned out, it was those four runs that made the difference for the Tigers, with the rally starting with Strobl walking and then Primeggia hitting an RBI triple to give Croton-Harmon a 6-5 lead.
The scoring continued with Giordano, Rakotz and Hoffman walking to load the bases. Squire, who was 3 for 4 with a run scored and three RBI, then hit a bomb to right field for two RBI that gave the Tigers all the runs they would need to secure the win.
Giordano, who went 3 for 3 with three runs scored, continued her season long display of power hitting with her 13th home run of the year, while Hoffman and Meri Levy each had an RBI in the game. Hartwig was the pitcher of record for Croton-Harmon and she won her ninth game of the season.
In the second game against Hamilton, Giordano wielded a monster bat, blasting three home runs and driving in 11 of the 20 runs scored by the Tigers. Overall, Giordano was 4 for 5 with five runs scored. Croton-Harmon established a 10-5 lead after three innings and then put the game away with seven unanswered runs in the fourth frame. Hartwig was the winning pitcher for the Tigers, striking out two Hamilton batters.
Squire continued her hot hitting as well and drove in two runs while scoring a run. Strobl, the team’s captain and catcher, was named the player of the game, going 2 for 3 with four runs scored and two walks.
Hoffman hit a single a scored a run, while Primeggia scored three runs and hit an RBI single. Rakotz went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Zahora Shaukat hit a single and Roberto scored two runs and had one hit. Saskia Lane scored a run for the Tigers to round out the totals.
After playing a brilliant regular season, the Croton-Harmon High School girls softball team experienced a quick exit from the Section 1 Class B championship tournament. After putting together a 9-2 overall record, with only one loss in league play, the Tigers drew the No. 11 seed for the championship tournament and match up against No. 6 Dobbs Ferry.
After enjoying a season of power hitting, the Tigers faced a formidable pitcher in Samantha Turco, who tossed a four hitter for 9-0 victory
Dobbs Ferry banged out 14 hits against Croton-Harmon pitcher, Hartwig, and scored two unanswered runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead. After posting a solo run in the bottom of the second frame, Dobbs Ferry put the game away with a four-run burst in the fourth inning. Primeggia, who had a double, managed the only extra base hit for Croton-Harmon.