Spring Weather Rots but Show Must Go on for Ex-area Locals

By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays

It’s been a miserable start to spring in the northeast… cold, cloudy, wet and dank for the better part of April, but the show must go on. Stay with us as we bounce around the Ex-area below…

FOX LANE made two treks north up I-684 last week to visit Putnam County-based MAHOPAC, and the results were not what the Foxes were hoping for. A day after losing 2-1 on the baseball diamond Thursday, the Foxes squandered a 5-3 lead on the boys’ lax green and fell 12-9 when Mahopac senior M Cam Hart (2G, 2A), senior M Brayden Torrey (1G, 2A), senior M Derek Lorusso (3G) and junior A Gavin O’Keefe (3G) each put up three or more points to fend off  a nifty seven-point night by Fox senior M Owen Baker (4G, 3A), who was dashing and stashing.

Down 3-1 Friday, Fox Lane exploded for three unanswered to take a 4-3 lead midway through the second quarter. And then a fourth unanswered tally provided a 5-3 lead just before the half.

 

Mahopac rallied out of nowhere in the third quarter to take an 8-7 lead. Mahopac sophomore A Liam Jones (1A) dumped one into an empty net for a 9-7 lead with 1:10 left in the third before Hart scored again at 1:00 off the ensuing faceoff for a 10-7 edge, and then went up 11-7 when O’Keefe buried a rebound at 5:09.

 

Mahopac’s Ryan Larue (1G, 1A, 1CT), Bobby Egan (1G), Brady Donaghy (3CT, 3GBs), Gio Mirable and Hart (combined 18/25 at the X) all produced.

Foxes John Mains (2G), Finn Cahillane (1G), Ryan Hardie (1G), Drew Nathan (first varsity goal), Declan Connors (2A) and Will Oliverio (2A) chipped in offensively.

 

Pac senior G Lucas Lamberton (16 saves) played one of his finest games. As impressive as their efforts were, neither the Foxes, nor the 2023 finalists Wolf Pac, seemed to have enough firepower to challenge the likes of reigning champion YORKTOWN or 2024 finalist HORACE GREELEY for the Class B title in late May. 

 

Greeley, which has never won a Section 1 title, has gotten our attention; the Quakers off to a 5-0 start, outsourcing opponents 90-36, including Friday’s 17-2 win over BREWSTER where freshman Luke Dessi (4G, 3A) continued his assault on Section 1. Luke has imposed his force upon Section 1 as he’s banked 23 goals and seven assists in his first five varsity games and seems the perfect complement to seasoned, All-Section veterans like Matthew Byrne (2G, 4A) and Jameson Blakeslee (2G, 1A).

“The whole team is on a different level of chemistry right now,” Blakeslee said. “These freshmen are playing insane. We’ve got some tough opponents coming up, and we are ready for anyone, but can’t take anyone lightly.”

 

Before we move off of lacrosse, how about the start Class B FOX LANE  (5-0) and reigning champ HORACE GREELEY (4-1) girls are off to; a combined 9-1 start, perhaps eyeing each other up for a run for the roses in late May. YORKTOWN (3-3), though, which it always does, should have something to say about that.

 

The Foxes handled HEN HUD, 18-9 Thursday when Michaela Kaltsas (5G, 2A), Zoe Stonecipher (4G, 3DC), Taylor Webb (4G), Phoebe Fisher (3G, 1A), Kami Boniello (2G, 2A), Cora Moore (3A, 10DC), Sophia Bueti (2A, 4GB, 4 CTO) and Maddie Barrett (1A) filled the stat sheet to support G Sara Renz (7S). The Sailors (0-5) saw solid efforts from Kayla McCarthy (4G), Paige Montgomery (2G, 1A, 3DC) and Gianna Gagliardi (2G, 9DC). 

How about Quaker Rowan Edson being one of 180 18U players invited to the National Team Development Program combine, competing for a spot on team USA #Impressive. 

Despite eight points from Ella Wendol (6G, 2A), PUTNAM VALLEY (-2) fell to New Rochelle, 12-11.

CLASS AA BASEBALL

If anyone likes a well-pitched high school baseball game, they should have tuned in to either MAHOPAC’s 2-1 win over FOX LANE Thursday or the Wolf Pac’s 1-0 win over YORKTOWN Wednesday.

We told you last week not to sleep on Mahopac (3-1), which outside of a 10-0 loss to RCK, has knocked off a pair of serious Class AA contenders in the Foxes and Huskers, plus a 5-4 win over Class A LAKELAND.

Fox Lane P Jackson Carroll dueled a pair of Mahopac hurlers – juniors RJ Grabeklis (3 IP, 1 run, 5 Ks) and Jeremy O’Keefe (4 IP, 0 runs, 5 Ks) – and deserved a better fate but was relieved in the seventh when Mahopac walked it off on junior Jake Walpole’s pinch-hit RBI single. Wolf Pac junior Nick Masciarelli added a run-scoring single and Hunter Eckstein added three hits for a stoked Wolf Pac club. 

 

“The team is fired up right now,” said Mahopac junior C Drew Lichtenberger, who has had the best look at the staff. “The main thing is that our pitchers trust our defense, and they just go out there and focus on command and throwing strikes. If teams want to beat us, they are not going to walk around the bases, they have to hit the ball against us.”

 

Fox C Logan Mammola crushed a run-scoring double for the Foxes’ lone run, plating John Czernyk, but this vaunted Fox Lane lineup could muster just three hits. The Foxes (3-2??) loaded the bases in the fourth but failed to score a run, despite having at least one runner in scoring position with none out. 

“Yeah, the bats went cold the last two games, but there is no worry within,” Czernyk said of the Foxes, who were also dealt a somewhat surprising 3-0 setback at the hands of rival HORACE GREELEY. “We are regrouping down here in Florida looking to win on Sunday against Yorktown. I think we got in our own way in both losses, striking out with runners on too often, which is not what we’ve shown in the past. Pitching has been phenomenal and shown more than Section 1 was expecting and now we just need the bats to pick them up.”

The weather in Florida should help heat up the bats, but the Huskers (4-1???) will be tough to score against if Coach CJ Riefenhauser decides to start ace hurler Derek Patrissi, who led the way in a 10-2 romp of Class A WALTER PANAS.

It was O’Keefe’s second straight superb relief outing, securing his first varsity W while getting out of the bases-loaded jam. The Wolf Pac drove eight hits in all, six off Carroll, who wiggled his way out of trouble by whiffing six.

“What a great game in general,” Mahopac Coach Anthony Nappi said. “Both teams played well, mistake free defensively.”

Masciarelli pitched 6.1 scoreless inning against Yorktown, fanning six Huskers, but a few late walks and a couple by reliever Jovani Segarra opened the door for a potential Husker rally, which Segarra worked out of by inducing a game-ending 6-3 putout to earn the save. Grabeklis plated the game’s lone run in the bottom of the seventh after getting beaned by a pitch, scoring Anthony Eppolito.

“Just the way we drew it up,” Nappi joked.

Greeley’s Cole Stein snapped a scoreless tie with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly, and the Quakers turned a pair of double plays on the Foxes. Quaker reliever Zach Bond (3 IP, 4 H, 2 K) picked up win after a sterling start from ace Ben Schulman (4 IP, 1 H, 7 K). Ben Falk (2B, 3B, RBI) and Ben Lederman (2B, RBI) were clutch for the Quakers (1-2), who were set to challenge Briarcliff for the Briarcliff Booster Club Chip Monday at noon after nipping HEN HUD, 5-4, in Sunday’s opening round.

CLASS A

Heralded PANAS SS Jake Malfat (HR, R, 2 RBI) and bigtime backstop Gianni Generoso (HR, R, RBI) each went yard in the reigning Class A champion Panthers 3-2 win over defending Class B champion CROTON, which has moved up to Class A this spring. CROTON’s Sam Levine was 2 for 2 with an RBI. Might we eventually see these two defending champs – Panthers (3-2) and Tigers (2-3) meet up again somewhere, somehow in the Class A playoffs? 

LAKELAND hurler Anthony Frobose (4 IP, 10 K, ER) looked like the ace the Hornets are hoping for in a 9-5 win over BYRAM HILLS. Louie Vernagallo (2 for 3, 2 RBI), Kaare Numme (2 RBI), Matt McDermott (2 for 3, R, RBI), Ramzi Done (R, RBI), Mateo Santiago (RBI) and Frobose (2 for 5, 2B, 3B, 2R) led the Hornets (2-2). Byram P Tyler Anchin (4 IP, 2 H, 3 K, 0 ER) kept the Bobcats (2-2) in it while Ben Rothenberg (2 RBI) stayed hot at the plate. 

 

It would be a mistake to sleep on PLEASANTVILLE (4-1) and WESTLAKE (3-1) at this point. The 13-time league champion Panthers took a pair of games last week, including wins over Blind Brook, 9-0, and Pearl River, 7-1. Winning P Matt O’Neill (5 IP, 8K), Kennedy (1 IP, K) and Mason Rizzi (1 IP, K) combined to shutout the Trojans after sophomore wizkid Reed Supranowitz (6 IP, 1 ER, 6K) twirled a game to defeat the Pirates.

 

CLASS B

If you listen closely, you can hear the buzz about the PUTNAM VALLEY baseball club, which is off to a 4-0 start, most impressively defeating Pleasantville, 15-1, on April 4, which was followed up in last week’s 12-2 win over Tuckahoe when Coach Joe Natalie’s Tigers stroked 11 hits to support winning P Dominic Benedetto (4 IP, 4 H, 9 K, 4 BB, R, 0 ER). James Sanford (2 for 2, 3 RBI), Nicky Benedetto (3 for 3, 2B, 2 SB), Nick Mazzola (2 for 2, 3B, 2 RBI) and Jake Peterson (2B, 2 RBI) each had multiple or extra-base hits and RBI. Coach Nats and the Tigers will find out what they are officially made of on April 24 when they host Class AAA heavyweight RCK.

Ex-area locals BRIARCLIFF and VALHALLA are still in search of their first win.

PLEASANTVILLE Roundup – is anyone in the Ex-area off to a better start than Pleasantville, which is a combined 15-3 in girls lax (5-0), softball (3-1), baseball (4-1) and boys’ lax (3-1)? 

The lone softball loss came at the hands of AAA Ossining, a 13-12 walk-off setback, before a bounce-back 8-3 win over Leffell. 

Ossining’s Kaylee Howie (3-5, 4 RBI) walked the Pride off to counter Panthers Montana Peppard (2-3, run, 3 BB, 3 RBI) and Lexi Tomaselli (3-5, 3 runs, 2 RBI). Against Leffell, Talia Hirsch (2-4, run, 2 RBI), Tomaselli (3-4, run, 2B, RBI) and Peppard (1-2, 2 BB, 2 RS, 2 RBI) supported the cause with ‘Pepp” fanning 11 for the win.

Sticking with Pleasantville, the Panthers youthful girls’ lax team is off and running, including a hard-fought 16-14 victory over visiting Harrison Thursday. Freshman Julie Karaqi and 8th-grader Sam Shultz each scored four goals and super soph Faith Brown (3G, 5A) added a game-high eight points. Throw in another six points from Ella Collins (4G, 2A), we’re talking about an offense that most Class D schools will be hard-pressed to contain come playoffs. The defense stepped up with key stops in the final minutes to secure the win. 

“Our wins against Harrison and Mamaroneck definitely got us pumped heading into a tough week ahead,” Brown said. “Vibes are certainly up, and our team has been coming together nicely! We obviously still have plenty to work on before facing some super-strong teams later in the season, but we are excited to continue moving forward.” 

The Panthers backed that action up with a 14-10 win over Class A heavyweight Mamaroneck Saturday behind an eight-point effort from freshman Maddie Becerra (4G, 4A). Brown added four goals and two assists for the undefeated Panthers (5-0).

The Pleasantville boys’ lax team has been quite effective to open the season at 2-1 with wins over local rivals Westlake (10-9) and Byram Hills (16-4). The Panthers, led by high-flying senior Nick Reich have scored 53 goals in their first four games. They are vibing on offense, according to Reich.

“We’re definitely hype but most certainly not satisfied,” the captain said. “We have huge tests ahead of us and have lots to work on. We’re trying to come together and click as a team and with these next few tough games coming up they will all be great tests.

“Somers is an outstanding team and should be a great challenge for us,” Reich said of the upcoming April 22 game. “We’re all just looking to get better throughout the whole season and begin to peak at the right time. We’re just going to try to get the offense moving and the defense locked in.”

P.S. loved that captain to captain behind-the-back give-and-go from Nick Reich to pole Tyler Challice in the win over Joel Barlow Saturday.

Examiner-area coaches are encouraged to tag @Directrays after each and every game for inclusion in our weekly sports notebook.

 

DAVID TABER/CHRIS SMAJLAJ/GIL McMAHON PHOTOS