James Madison wasn’t really hitting and ace Kayla Hill wasn’t best-pitcher-in-the-city dominant like normal. The Knights were nursing just a one-run lead in the bottom of the fifth and looking for something – anything – to get a little more breathing room.
Sophomore Breanna DePasquale, who had been struggling at the plate lately, provided the spark. The second baseman drilled a long, two-run home run for some much-needed insurance. No. 2 Madison would hold on, 4-1, against No. 7 Environmental Studies in the PSAL Class A softball quarterfinals Tuesday in Brooklyn.
“You could see us pump out our chest so to speak and you could see they kind of lost it,” Knights coach Jeff Meltzer said of DePasquale’s homer. “That made a big difference. Then Kayla finished strong.”
Hill gave up no earned runs on two hits – the first she’s allowed in the postseason – with three walks and 13 strikeouts in seven innings. First baseman Jennie Hosty was 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Madison. Meltzer said he had the same conversation with the junior that he had with last year’s first baseman Nikki Panaro before the playoffs. Panaro ended up being the hero of the semifinals and hit the game-tying home run against Tottenville in the city championship game.
“Same thing I said to Nikki – we need you to hit for us to go far,” the coach said. “She’s come through.”
Environmental Studies senior ace Jocelyn Jimenez was excellent in the biggest start of her career. Not only did she drive in her team’s lone run when Hill walked her in, but she gave up just one earned run on seven hits and struck out four in six innings. Destini Torres scored the run and Chasity Velez and Elizabeth Desiqueira had a hit apiece. The Eagles fell to the Knights, 8-0, in the regular season.
“The score is not indicative of the game,” Meltzer said. “We came in respecting Environmental Studies and I thought they really played well. … I told them after, ‘Sometimes you lose games. You guys didn’t lose this game, we just happened to win it.’”
Environmental Studies (13-5), which has won Manhattan three of the last four years, was playing in just its first Class A quarterfinals.
“We showed a lot of poise today and down the stretch run,” Eagles coach Jose Ferrer said. “There’s no shame in going out by going toe to toe with the defending champions.”
Madison will meet No. 3 Construction in the semifinals Thursday at a location that has yet to be determined. Meltzer didn’t mind somewhat of a scare Tuesday.
“On the way to a championship, there’s always one game that it looks like a team is gonna lose and they pull it out,” he said. “Like I told the girls, it was a good test for us. We haven’t been tested that often.”