Poly Prep’s Christie Wojcik had three hits. (Damion Reid)
Victoria Capozucca couldn’t help but laugh.
The Poly Prep star lined a ball down the first-base line that looked destined to bring home two runs and tie the game with Tottenville. Instead, she saw Pirates first baseman Nicole Palase dive to her left and knock the ball down.
“It was a nice hit and she made a great play,” Capozucca said. “I tried sprint to the base.”
But she knew it was going to be for naught as Palase collected the ball and lunged back to tag the base to end the fifth inning and any hope for a comeback by Poly Prep, the No. 5-ranked team in the city by The Post. The host and second-ranked Pirates scored three times in the bottom of the inning and twice in the sixth to pull away for a 9-2 win in non-league softball Tuesday.
“We did have some opportunities and could not come up with the big hit when we needed it,” Blue Devils coach Mildred Piscopo said. “It seemed like the same part of the order was getting on and setting the table. We were just not able to produce that hit when we needed it.”
Capozucca gave her team a 2-0 lead with a two-run single in the top of the first to score Christa Wojcik, who had three hits, and Erica Sollazzo. Tottenville centerfielder Victoria McFarland robbed Katie Friel of a hit with a diving catch with man on second. Poly stranded Sollazzo and Wojcik, who led off the inning with singles apiece, at second and third with no outs in the third. Tottenville starter Sonia Jimenez allowed seven hits, struck out nine and walked one.
“They just played really good ‘D,’” Capozucca said.
The windmiller pitched a rare game at 43 feet since the Ivy League kept the pitching rubber at 40, allowed 13 hits, walked just one and struck out. Tottenville scored three time in the first, once in the fourth and broke the game up by taking a 7-2 lead, with a three-run fifth. Christina Penna was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Jennifer Palase, Nicole’s younger sister, had three hits for the Pirates, who had all nine batters get a hit. Capozucca did manage to limit the damage at times.
“To play at 43 it takes a little zip of the ball for her, but she moved the ball around well,” Piscopo said.
Added Capozucca: “I knew coming here the girls were going to be able to put the bat on the ball. It wasn’t going to be an easy game.”
A tough opponent is exactly what Poly Prep, the four-time defending NYSAIS champion, is looking for these days as it gets ready for rival Horace Mann on Friday. The Devils already own a win over Susan Wagner and plays St. Joseph by the Sea next week before the postseason.
“It’s the level of competition and it’s the intensity,” Piscopo said. … “It a high-level team so there is a certain level of intensity that you would have in the playoffs.”