Softball: Pearl River leaves little doubt in league title-clinching win over Nanuet
PEARL RIVER - There's no doubt Pearl River has its eyes on a bigger and better prize at the end of the season, but Wednesday's accomplishment was nothing to scoff at and worthy of celebration.
Pearl River captured its third-straight league title, leaving little doubt in a 15-0 five-inning, title-clinching win over Nanuet.
"It definitely helps us confidence-wise, knowing that if we put in a lot of effort, we can succeed," Pearl River senior shortstop Maeve Woods said. "You never want to look too far ahead in the section, you just want to focus on that next game, but I definitely think this will help our mentality moving forward."
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Statistically, the Conference 2-E league is among one of the better groupings in Section 1. Every single member of the quintet, which includes Pearl River, Nanuet, Clarkstown North, Nyack and Tappan Zee, entered Wednesday with a .500 or better record.
Collectively, as a league entering this final week of the regular season, they boast the second-highest overall win percentage and win-loss record against non-league opponents compared to others in the section.
While the league title is nice, they hope that the experience of battling and overcoming their rivals will serve them well come playoff time.
"There's really no days off in this league," Pearl River coach Chris Woolgar said. "I looked at the standings. If one or two things happen, all five teams could have 10-plus wins. Going into playoffs, seeing that competition week in and week out, seeing the pitching and big-time hitters, hopefully, that will help us adjust to whatever competition we see in the postseason."
When the Pirates first faced Nanuet on April 27, they hardly had anything go into their favor. They struggled at the plate, had costly errors, and struggled to keep Nanuet off the bases, losing in lopsided fashion.
Wednesday's rematch was a complete reversal. The Pirates pounced on the Golden Knights to start, then went on to score at least two runs in every inning. They tallied 18 hits as a team.
"A lot of games in the past, we'd been getting off to slow starts, making a couple errors in the first inning, and not scoring until later in the game," Pearl River sophomore pitcher Kiera Luckie said. "It's good that we got consistent runs and consistent hits throughout the game, and not just stacking it all in one inning."
Pearl River set the tone with an early 4-0 lead after the first inning, and Nanuet couldn't recover, as the Pirates' hits and runs compounded.
"My message to the team after the game was the opportunity to make plays early in the game," Nanuet coach Eric Lanks said. "We had some plays that could have been made that weren't, and you can't miss those opportunities against good teams. Credit to Pearl River for taking advantage of our mistakes."
What it means
The Pirates have now clinched league titles in six of the last seven seasons. They were outright league champs in 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and now, 2022. They also shared the league crown with Tappan Zee in 2017.
There was no season in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Nanuet, it takes its second league loss in a row. The Golden Knights have only lost three out of their last 11 games.
Player of the game
Kiera Luckie, Pearl River: She held things down in the circle and never allowed Nanuet to get going. Luckie pitched a one-hit shutout, with six strikeouts, and went 2-for-4 at the plate.
"Everyone throughout the lineup really contributed, and same thing in the field, where we had no errors," Luckie said. "It's really nice as a pitcher to have your team back you up and know that if you let up a hit, it's not the end of the world, because your team has your back. "
By the numbers
Pearl River (12-4) — Brigitte Collins went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Liv Turilli went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Jill Donnelly went 2-for-2 with two walks, two doubles and two RBI. Cat Arnold went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Hailey Bauer and Maeve Woods each had two hits and a RBI. As a team, they had 18 hits.
Nanuet (10-8) — Emma Peterson hustled for an infield hit. Nanuet got another runner on base after a hit-by-pitch. Kami DeGaetani was saddled with the loss in the circle.
Quotable
"It's a great feeling," Woods said. "We've had our struggles for a little while now. Definitely a great comeback game and a great all-around game. Everybody stepped up in their role and did the job they were asked to do, so that's always great to see."
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Softball: Pearl River clinches league title with 15-0 win over Nanuet
