Alexandra Sappington is one of the best pitchers in New York City. She has a spot on the team next year at Division I Furman in South Carolina. She led LaGuardia to the PSAL Class B title last season.
And in April she went down for the season with a torn ACL.
The Athletics and Sappington were almost synonymous. But remarkably they have gotten by pretty well without her.
No. 14 LaGuardia came back to beat No. 19 Port Richmond, 5-4, in the PSAL Class A softball first round Saturday at Lincoln HS in Brooklyn. It was perhaps the program’s biggest win, over a well-known Staten Island opponent, and the Athletics (10-5) did it with the Cady sisters – Casey and Wesley – in the circle, not Sappington.
“I can’t say I would have expected us to be this far,” coach Greg Brummell said. “But I told them we can’t give up now. Yeah , we lost Alex, but it’s not the end of the world. You guys are still a good group of girls.”
LaGuardia lost two straight games and three of four after Sappington went down. But the Athletics finished the season on a three-game league winning streak. Freshman Casey Cady and senior Wesley Cady have been revelations pitching. Brummell gave partial credit to catcher Chelsea Correa for that.
“The team really dug in and got together behind Chelsea Correa,” Brummell said. “She’s been doing really great work behind there, really helping the pitchers feel comfortable.”
It was Correa that tied the game with a two-run single in the fourth. Port Richmond (9-9) took a 4-0 lead in the first inning and did not score again. Casey Cady pitched the first five innings and, after Frany Rodriguez doubled home the go-ahead run in the fifth, Wesley Cady came on to shut the door.
“We play a lot more defense now,” Brummell said of the post-Sappington era. “They’ve become more active. Overall it made us a better team. “
The Athletics, who meet No. 3 Construction in the second round Monday, were just happy to get the game in. The tilt with Port Richmond was scheduled for Tuesday initially, but the inclement weather forced games to be called at Central Park and Randall’s Island before the PSAL intervened and brought the game to Lincoln on Saturday.
“After Wednesday it was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, let’s just play somehow,’” Brummell said.
Evidently, it was worth the wait.