Britney Rodriguez gave up two runs in the first inning and walked five through five frames. Her control was all over the place. The Construction freshman ace’s poise in a big situation was being put to the test.
“I think Britney’s heart rate today was probably over 200 for the first five innings,” Red Hawks coach Marco Migliaccio said. “She was super pumped. She knows this is for the division again. When I warmed her up, she was on speed or something. That’s why her location was off.”
It wasn’t until Construction blew the game open in the bottom of the fifth of a 14-2, six-inning win over Bryant in PSAL Queens A-II softball that Rodriguez was able to calm down. She struck out the side in the sixth inning and sophomore first baseman Linda McKernan’s three-run home run in the bottom half sent the Red Hawks to the victory and a second straight division title in just two seasons in Class A.
“When I got those runs, I was like, ‘OK, I gotta relax – we got this,’” Rodriguez said.
Bryant (9-3), which has been on a roll, put an early scare into Construction (11-1). Junior shortstop Gaby Faustino hit a leadoff triple to start the game, Courtney Serrano drove her in and Ashley Torres Littwin made it 2-0 with an RBI single of her own. The Owls immediately put the Red Hawks on their heels.
It took a massive three-run triple by pinch hitter Amy Pirozek in the second inning to get them back the lead, 3-2. The freshman has been in danger of losing her regular spot in the lineup lately, but she came up with a rope that curled down the right field line that scored McKernan, Amanda Garcia and Katherine Valle (three walks, three runs). Alicia Gonzalez drove her in with a single and later Pirozek came up with an RBI single of her own.
“Amy came up huge today,” Migliaccio said.
Three straight Bryant errors to start the fifth inning helped Construction get some breathing room in a five-run fifth. McKernan (2-3, five RBIs, two runs) had the big hit with a two-run single off Tiffany Zecena, who Owls coach Wally Hausdorf said began overcompensating because her defense was not making plays behind her.
“It was a real confidence boost,” Pirozek said.
Defense had actually been Bryant’s biggest strength in winning six of seven league games and a big non-league against Cardozo on Friday. The Owls also left seven runners on against Rodriguez. Faustino went 2-for-4 and Serrano was 2-for-3.
“You gotta learn,” Hausdorf said. “Maybe later in the playoffs, they’ll know what to do.”
Ashley Burke was 2-for-4 with two runs and Kailan Luciano was 1-for-2 with a run. Rodriguez ended up allowing just those two runs on four hits, none after the second inning. She looked dominant in the sixth, setting the side down in order, each batter swinging at either a hard fastball or a devastating changeup.
“She became unhittable again,” Migliaccio said. “This is a big step she had to take. It’s better that it happens now.”
Rodriguez said her left hamstring started to bother her after throwing the first pitch of the game. The 5-foot-2 sprite has also been pitching with a broken finger on her left pitching hand since the first week of the season. Perhaps all that adrenaline she had early got her through the pain.
“It was a big game,” Rodriguez said. “Bryant is a really good school and I wanted to win this game bad.”