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PV Tigers Roaring on Diamond with 4-2 start
Lisikatos fans 20 in Haldane softball romp of Croton
by Ray Gallagher
Putnam Valley shortstop Deanna Mazzola looks to put tag on John Jay EF runner in opening-round loss at Jay Fest in Cross River Friday.
The big story from the PCN&R-area varsity sports scene springs from the Putnam Valley High baseball diamond where coach Joe Natale's Tigers became the first team this season to knock off Briarcliff, doing so behind the bat of sophomore Walter Sherwood (5 RBI). The Tigers backed up that 7-6 win over the Bears by knocking off 2006 Class C runnerup Croton-Harmon, 11-0, last Saturday. The Tigers added to that Monday by knocking off Class A Peekskill, 6-2, on Monday at Peekskill Stadium.
Sherwood crushed a grand slam in the sixth and Larry Cobb stroked the game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh against Briarcliff (7-1) and doubled off the wall against Croton. Sherwood beat Briarcliff to notch his first varsity win for the 4-2 Tigers, an organization that has never won more than seven games in a season and reached the playoffs just once in five years. The 4-2 start is the best in school history.
In his third year at the helm, Coach Nats has finally found a nucleus of players capable of stringing together victories, doing so with clutch hitting and another vintage effort from chucker Pat Considine, who beat his own school record for strikeouts in a game (12, previously 11) against Croton, which managed just three hits.
Bopper Josh Coppa went 4-for-4 for the Tigers, driving in a pair of runs to lead the way. Sherwood added two more ribs off a pair of singles for the tigers, who stroked 11 hits in all.
Against Peekskill, Coppa doubled home two runs to support chucker Greg D'Annibale, who worked seven frames, fanning nine and scattering four hits. Karl Lange tripled and scored two runs for the Tigers, who took full advantage of Peekskill's sloppy defense (6 errors).
The Lady Tigers also did some damage to Briarcliff, doing so behind the first career no-hitter from Karianne Brown. The Tigers (4-3) took both ends of a home-and-home from the Bears before losing to John Jay East Fishkill in the opening round of the Cross River Jay Fest Tournament where the Tigers placed third by salvaging the consolation round with a 5-4 win over Sleepy Hollow. Brown's no-hitter was the first of her career. She fanned seven batters and sports a .400 BA, just nine points below team leader Christina Walsh, who leads the team with seven runs and three doubles.
The Putnam Valley girl's lacrosse team made history last week, wining two of its first three games in its inaugural season under Coach Kristin Bulkley. A 7-5 win over Class AA Arlington was followed up with an 11-7 victory over Pelham. Shifty Ashley Morgan scored four goals and dished five assists while Kelli Vandeveerdonk added a hat trick in the win over the Pelicans. Morgan, Hannah Tavella and Tara Gleason each scored twice in the win over the Admirals.
Peter Morgan dropped three goals and three assists on Lakeland/Panas, but the Tigers (2-6) were beaten soundly by the Rebels Monday by a 19-10 count. Tom Kelly and Hugh O'Gorman added two goals apiece in a losing effort.
Haldane's Chelsea Lisikatos has been a blur to those who face her on the mound. Recent opponents literally can't see what she's throwing at them. In the past two games, the 8th-grade phenom has whiffed 33 batters. Against Keio, Lisikatos fanned 13 batters in five innings of one-hit ball in Haldane 22-0 victory over the Keio Academy, which committed seven errors. Lisikatos also tripled, scored three runs and knocked in a pair. She added to that with a career-high 20 strikeouts against Croton.
Against Keio, Cassie Barcavage scored three runs, drove in another and belted three hits. Jen Lombardo went 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs for the Blue Devils (2-1), who let their bats do the talking on Monday as well, putting a 24-1 whipping on Croton- Harmon. Again, Barcavage (4-for-5) did some major damage, hitting a pair of triples and driving home three runs. Jade Lyons cracked a home run, two doubles and drove home five for the winners. Youthful Haldane has been impressive since losing on opening day, but things haven't panned out on the baseball diamond or the men's lax green.
The Haldane baseball team has been outscored 39-2 during a rough 0-3 start to the season. The Blue Devils have a shot to turn things around this week during a home-and-home set with Valhalla (1-6). The Haldane lacrosse team came oh-so close to winning its first game of the season, losing 7-6 at White Plains where Ian Kingsley scored twice in defeat for the 0-4 Blue Devils.
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