White Plains Girls Softball
Lady Tigers Young Stars Support Upperclassmen for First Round Win
But Lose to # 2 Yorktown in Quarterfinals to End Season
On Friday, May 18, eighth-grade phenome Ella Utschig was back on the mound with vim and vigor, knowing her team needed her to pitch against Scarsdale High School in the First Round of the Section 1 AA Playoffs.
The eighth grader has been handling the Lady Tigers Softball Team’s pitching duties since the early season injury to Ava Rainone, the 10th grade pitcher who was on the mound for the Tigers last season.
Utschig was sidelined for the final three games of the regular season due to concussion protocol. Furthermore, with Utschig sidelined and Rainone injured as well, Tigers Head Coach Ted O’Donnell had to result to a position player to pitch against Scarsdale on May 11 and a Junior Varsity arm to throw against Mamaroneck on May 12 to conclude the regular season.
The Tigers lost both games resulting in them losing the remaining four games of the regular season. What is more, two of the remaining four losses were against Scarsdale the number 10-seed and their opponent in the First Round of the Section 1 AA Playoffs.
Utschig did not pitch her best game, but what can you expect after being sidelined for two weeks. The eighth grader relinquished eight hits, two walks, three hit-batsmen and struckout six Raiders, as she worked off the rust from her two-week layoff.
“Ella has not played competitively for two weeks,” commented O’Donnell, regarding his ace pitcher. “She has been out with a concussion and we have been following the protocol, while easing her back in the last week. She battled in this game, she battled,” stated O’Donnell.
Nonetheless, with the Raiders gaining an early lead 3-0 by the top of the fifth inning, Utschig came to the plate and slugged a single with bases loaded to score two runs. Utschig was thrown out trying to stretch but she put her team on the scoreboard and back in the game.
“It is rough coming back from two weeks not playing, so it was a bit hard for me, but in the end, I am proud of how our team stuck together,” said Utschig, who blanked the Raiders, in the top of the seventh inning.
With the score 3-2 in the Raiders favor and the Lady Tigers down to their final three outs, O’Donnell said, “I thought we definitely had a shot with the batters we had coming up.” But, he had better than “a shot.” The Tigers won 4-3.
Raiders’ pitcher Sam Hausman pitched a remarkable game but she hit the leadoff batter senior Sophia Rainone, to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Her younger sister Ava Rainone survived a fielder’s choice and Scarsdale first basemen Mia Carroll leaned her hand on the fence and made a beautiful catch on Erin Patterson’s foul ball.
Then with two outs, another Tigers eighth grader Alexa Galligani slammed a double to centerfield to score Rainone with the tying run. The youth struck again when ninth grader Zoey Kovach hit a walk-off single to score Galligani and the Lady Tigers celebrated a monumental First Round Playoff come-from-behind victory over the Raiders 4-3.
“It felt amazing, we did it, we came from behind, we came out with the win and that is really what it is all about,” exclaimed Kovach, another young star for the Tigers Softball Team.
However, the number seven-seeded Lady Tigers season came to a dramatic end when they were defeated, 2-1, by number two-seed Yorktown High School, at Yorktown, on Monday.
Tigers Girls Lacrosse Beats Arlington for Quarterfinals Victory
The Lady Tigers Lacrosse Team beat Arlington High School, 15-8, in the Quarterfinals of the Section 1-A Playoffs. The Lady Tigers advance to the Semifinals, where they will meet the number 1-seeded North Rockland High School.
The number 5-seeded Lady Tigers stickers led 9-3 at the half and outscored the Admirals, 6-5, in the second half to secure the 15-8 victory. Tigers senior Abby Leone had six goals, while scoring her 150th career high-school goal in the game.
Lady Tigers Alexa Donahoe had four goals and two assists and Maddie Povemba scored twice against the Admirals. Tigers Julia Mancini also celebrated a milestone, while achieving her 100th career-point in the game.
The number 15-seeded Tigers Boys Lacrosse Team did not fare as well as their Lady counterparts; They lost, 15 8, to the number seven-seeded Lakeland/Panas in the First Round of Section 1 Class A Playoffs.
