The G.V.L.L. Senior girls softball Blazers won their fourth straight game in convincing fashion with a 24-7 victory over the West Side Comets. The game was actually much closer than the score indicates, with the Blazers holding onto a slim 5-4 lead going into the bottom of the fifth when they blew it open with 11 runs, followed by an eight-run sixth inning.
Kate Phillips pitched a strong game for the Blazers holding the Comets to four runs over her five innings of work, collecting eight strikeouts along the way. Mariama Bonetti came in to close out the victory for Greenwich Village with a 1-2-3 seventh inning. Both Phillips and Bonetti helped their own pitching causes with big days at the plate as well. Phillips hit a grand slam in the 11-run fifth inning and Bonnetti hit the ball hard all day with a monstrous triple to left, a double to center and a single that literally ripped the Comets third baseman’s glove out of her hand.
The play of the day came off the hardest hit ball of the day when the Blazers’ shortstop, Sophie Spiegel, crushed a line drive to deep left field. The Comets left fielder, Natalie Back, ran towards her left, extended her glove hand as far as she could reach and snared the blast that was still rising and tailing away from her.
The Blazers flashed plenty of leather of their own. In the top of the second with the score tied 2-2 and Phillips in a bit of a jam, catcher Erica Silverstein saw the Comets base runner on first take off to try to steal second. Silverstein fired the ball to second base and Spiegel made a great catch and tag to nail the baserunner a full stride before she reached the bag. In that same inning, the Blazers’ Mollie Schwartz, playing first base, made a sensational leaping catch of a looping fly ball hit well over her head into foul territory behind first base. Somehow, she managed to avoid the baserunner on first, leap towards the right-field line and still make the catch. Finally, Alexa Nicholas, snared a tough line drive at second base in the top of the sixth inning to end the Comets late game three-run rally.
The Blazers’ rookies continued to show solid improvement as Tory Brewster went three for five with two RBI, Jannelle Rossario and Kelsey Lafer each collected a single and two walks in four trips to the plate and Sonu Adams went two for three, stealing several bases on hard, aggressive slides.
