The Farmingdale 10U Greendog softball team completed a great season last weekend, beating higher seeded teams from Massapequa and Plainedge to reach the finals of East Meadow’s Summer Sizzle tournament. Unfortunately the girls had to settle for the runner-up hardware, as their late rally in the championship game against undefeated Bellmore ended with the tying runs on base in the 7-5 defeat.
The coaches are extremely proud not only of the game day results, but also of the hard work this group of girls put in during their many practices. For most of Farmingdale’s girls this was the first taste of real competition. While many of the towns they competed against traditionally put out strong 8U tournament teams, roughly half the Greendogs had only faced coaches pitching in the past.
The inexperience showed during pool play for Farmingdale, as they competed in most games, but managed to win just 3 against 4 losses to enter the playoffs as the 5 seed. This set up a game against a Massapequa team that had beaten them 2 weeks before. Winning that quarterfinal game gave the Greendogs a chance to atone another of their losses. With the experience the Farmingdale girls gained, they defeated Plainedge to become the first Farmingdale softball team in recent memory to reach the finals of this elite tournament.
Patrice Cotov’s pitching and the hitting and fielding of Cameron Stamm (3B), Katie Norton (1B) and Emily Diaz (SS) was outstanding right from the start of the season and helped ease the transition to tournament play for the others. Catcher Gianna Ventierre threw out over 40 percent of would be base stealers on the season and her improved hitting was a huge factor, along with the hitting and great defense at second base turned in by Olivia Mott, in the team’s late season success. Christina Esposito and Allysa Moritz contributed more than anyone could have expected from first year players and the season really turned around when new leadoff hitter Kyla Koch, Laura Dentato, Haley Kleinhans, Rilye D’Andrea, Marion DeGruchy, Alexis Mastrelli and Christina Hassett (2 hits in the semi-final game) all delivered in key at bats during the run for the playoffs.
The parents should be extremely proud of the effort these girls put in this year. It was the coaches from Massapequa, Plainedge and Bellmore who said it best during postgame ceremonies. To paraphrase “the way this team improved from the start of the season we expect to see this group of girls competing in postseason tournaments during upcoming years. Farmingdale softball is making a huge comeback!” The 10U Greendog coaches agree.
