Sports
Hewlett Softball Stages 8-6 Comeback Against Mineola
Lady Bulldogs erase 5-run deficit in late innings.
The Mineola varsity softball team faced off against the Hewlett Lady Bulldogs Friday afternoon for the , only this time, the Lady Mustangs were unable to claim victory, falling 8-6 in the final innings.
Friday’s matchup at played out much like the first between the two young teams with one taking a powerful lead and the other coming back strong to pull out a win. Unlike last time, Mineola hopped onto the scoreboard first but Hewlett finished on top.
“We lost 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh in the season opener so this is a big win for us,” Hewlett Head Coach Vin Lospinuso said.
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Both teams remained scoreless throughout the game’s first two innings but Mineola’s Shannon Maloney broke the silence to put the Lady Mustangs up on the scoreboard.
Hewlett was still trailing behind as Mineola racked in four more runs in the top of the fifth frame.
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“Christina Palmenteri had great hitting for us,” Mineola head coach Melissa Skupp said.
The Lady Mustangs, confident after a great turn at bat, couldn’t hold onto their lead after Nicole Rizzo blasted a three-run triple.
By the bottom of the fifth inning, the two teams were now engaged in a heated battle with a tie score of 5-5 after the Lady Mustangs had Hewlett shutout.
Hewlett pitcher Mackie Sperry then shut down the Mineoa lineup.
“She pitched a great game with nine strike outs,” Lospinuso said.
The Lady Bulldogs carried on their streak in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to Amy Vitha's three run homer that bumped the score up to 8-5.
Erin Etherson’s seventh inning score brought the girls of Mineola just two runs behind their opponent, but Hewlett’s quickness on the field cut their quest for a comeback short.
“The girls performed good as a whole,” Skupp said of Mineola after their loss. “We were doing well but we ended up beating ourselves; some errors hurt us.”
Hewlett was nothing but pleased with their performance, and hopes to continue to improve in the second half of the season.
“Our team came back,” Lospinuso said. “We put together one run at a time and we scored eight runs in two innings. Our younger players are really starting to hit more.”
Mineola will have a week off and return to host Jericho Tuesday, April 26 at 4:30 p.m.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E Mineola Lady Mustangs 0 0 1 0 4 0 1 6 5 4 Hewlett Lady Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 5 3 - 8 5 2
