Francis Lewis shortstop Samantha Lallave gets a hug from a teammate after a double play to end the game. (Denis Gostev)
As the ball left Gabriella Contreras’ bat it appeared to be heading for the outfield grass. A hit would bring the wining run to the plate for Port Richmond in the bottom of the seventh.
But Samantha Lallave would have none it. The Francis Lewis shortstop made a break for shallow left field.
“I know I can always get those balls, no matter where they go,” the sophomore said. “I know I can get them.”
Lallave was able to run it down and pluck it out of the air with an outstretched glove. She turned and fired to first to double off Jamie Forlenza and kept the tying run from coming to the plate for the third time in the inning. The play completed a necessary and important 4-2 PSAL Class A softball crossover win Friday against the Red Raiders at West Shore Little League on Staten Island.
“They weren’t expecting me to go out and get it,” Lallave said. “It still shocked me that they were [off the bag], but you got to make the play.”
Unlike in a disappointing non-league loss to Clinton, the Patriots’ defense was nearly impeccable behind starter Priscilla Lallave, Samantha’s older sister, in a game played in steady rain. The only error came after right fielder Samantha Yu ran down a ball hit by Paige Cintron along the right field line. She stuck her glove out only to see the ball pop free. It led to Port Richmond’s only two runs to cut the Lewis lead to 4-2.
“We are not a team who is going to go out and hit the ball over the fence,” Patriots coach Bryan Brown said. “Priscilla is going to strike out a couple of people, but for the most part she is pitching to contact. We got to field the ball.”
Priscilla Lallave was superb. She moved the ball around the strike zone and used a riser as her out pitch. She allowed five hits and struck out 10. Lallave stranded runners on first and second with no outs in the fourth by striking out two ofthe next three hitters and left a runner on second in both the fifth and sixth.
“I was just pitching wherever they couldn’t touch it,” she said. “Wherever they weren’t able to hit I just kept it there.”
Francis Lewis (6-0 Queens A-I) didn’t hit Port Richmond ace Caitlin Shields particularly hard, but took advantage of scoring opportunities. It got a run in the first inning when a wild pitch brought home pinch runner Neleni Esmeral after Theo Alexandrou walked. In the third the Patriots took advantage of a walk to Bianca Concepcion, who then stole two bases, and Kristen Derop singled her home. Kiara Liberos added an RBI ground out to plate Derop after a wild pitch and passed ball to make it 3-0. Alexandrou’s ground out in the fourth to bring home Taylor Stanton capped the Lewis scoring.
“We run on energy and it took us awhile to get started,” Port Richmond coach Brenda Lee said. “Once we did, it was kind of a little bit too late. I was glad to see that we bounced back.”
The Patriots, the favorite in Queens A-I, are hoping the win will give them a boost into the second half of the season after trailing rival Bayside 3-2 after one inning in a suspended game and losing to Clinton. The victory over Port Richmond (3-3 Staten Island A) will be important to their playoff fate.
“We needed to show that we can we out of borough,” Brown said. “We are winning in the division, but we got to show that we can win out of borough and strengthen our borough.”