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Put Valley Laxmen Tamed by Fox Lane, Somers
Tigers win first league baseball title in history; Lisikatos fires no-hitter for Haldane
by Ray Gallagher
 | | Putnam Valley defenseman Ryan Foshay (25) getting his stick up into Fox Lane's Chase Beitzel in the Tigers' 14-7 loss to the host Foxes in Bedford last Thursday. |
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If one were to take a poll of Section 1 lacrosse coaches on the best face-off man in the section, chances are the results would come out close to 100% in favor of Fox Lane midfielder Mickey Mangieri. Using a combination of anticipation and hand speed, Mangieri has mastered the art, winning an average of 80-85% of the draws he's taken this season. Mangieri's dominance off the draw afforded his Foxes (9-9) possession after possession in last Thursday's 14-7 victory over visiting Putnam Valley (5-9), leading to a dominating performance by the Foxes.
Middie Jay Lucas did his usual thing for the Foxes, too, drawing the attention of every slide the Tigers needed to make in an effort to contain the explosive middie. Lucas scored two goals and dished three assists while Chase Beitzel had three goals and one assist for the Foxes while Bobby Ahrens added a goal and three assists. Mac Beitzel added a goal and two assists against the Tigers, who played without starting goalie Cory Ender.
 | | Putnam Valley middie Tom Kelly rifles a shot on goal in Tigers 14-7 loss to host Fox Lane last Thursday in Bedford |
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Putnam Valley's Peter Morgan and Dillon Chestnut had one goal and two assists apiece for the Tigers, who, with any luck, are better prepared for the rigors of the upcoming Class C sectional tournament having played a power league schedule for the most part. The Tigers kept it close for a half; down 8-5, but it was all Fox Lane in the second half. Tommy Kelly and Jimmy Fitzsimmons each tallied twice for the Valley. Hugh O'Gorman's goal brought the Tigers within four at 11-7, but the Foxes closed strong with the next three marks.
For all the scoring in the game, it was Mangieri's dominance in the box that had wowed Putnam Valley coach Brian Kuczma the most.
"He's one of the best I've seen around here since Steve Ammann (now playing at Albany University)," said Kuczma. "He anticipates the whistle so well that sometimes it costs him, but he'll exchange those four violations for 14 possessions. That's a lot of possessions to give an offense. In a situation like that we certainly missed Cory's senior leadership back there on defense. That's what we need going in to sectionals."
When asked if it's a combination of his anticipating the whistle and the gift of hand speed, Mangieri said, "That's 100% correct… right on the money. I do have some trouble with the straight-up clamp guy like a Ryder Bohlander (John Jay), but if it's just quick vs. quick I think I can win most every time. As much as I can get the ball to Jay and Bobby and the rest of them, the better off we'll be. That's what we need to win games."
Having lost by a 12-2 count to Somers on Monday, the Tigers have dropped three in a row and hope to turn things around this week against a struggling Mahopac team that Putnam Valley has never beaten and a Briarcliff team the Tigers should be able to handle.
In all, the Tigers have put themselves in position to be the No.2 seed in the Class C tournament, which begins this coming weekend at the home of the higher seed (TBA).
The Tigers have prepped well, despite the shabby overall record. Middie Tom Kelly can be a bull to stop and should do well on draws in the tournament, having squared off against the likes of Mangieri and John Hittman of Lakeland/Panas. Morgan will be tough for opposing poles to trace from behind the net where he works at quarterback of the attack and Chestnut comes off the wing with surprising burst for a sophomore. Throw in senior Jimmy Fitzsimmons and polished Hugh O'Gorman and the Tigers have an attack that can score the ball.
The big question for the Tigers is the healthy return of senior All-Section goalie Corey Ender, who has been forced to sit out several games with an injury. A hot Ender could carry the Tigers deep into the tournament. Otherwise, the Tigers would have to rely on backup John Landi, who has shown flashes of capability but lacks the big-game experience of Ender.
"We're all kind of saying the Class C is anyone's to win," said Kuczma. "We came out slow because we're young, so it's going to come down to who's playing best at that time. I think it's going to be a pretty interesting tournament. We're maturing as quickly as we can to prepare. Guys have 14 games under their belts now, so there's really no excuse for youth now."
In other Putnam Valley action, Coach Joe Natalie's baseball club continued its strong push for one of the top four seeds in the upcoming Class B tournament. The Tigers swept Byram Hills by scores of 6-2 (Monday) and 16-7 (last Thursday) to improve to 13-3 on the season, 10-2 in league play. With each victory the Tigers earn, they set yet another school record for wins in a season, and Monday's was the biggest in program history as it secured the Tigers their first league title. With a nice blend of veterans and rookies, Natalie has the Tigers poised to host a playoff game for the first time in school history.
Karl Lange doubled and knocked in two runs Monday to help defeat the Bobcats. Matt Cordaro, Larry Cobb, Walter Sherwood and Chris Orlando each plated a run for the Tigers, who got a complete game effort from ace Pat Considine (5-1), who benched 12 Bobcats on K's. The junior right-hander's ERA now sits at 1.16 for the season. He has 60 K's in 42 innings this season and hasn't scratched the surface yet in terms of pitching. Once he gets a deuce or develops a straight change, Considine will be lethal.
Lange drove home four and went yard in the first game against the Bobcats. Cordaro tripled twice and had three RBI. Considine doubled and drove in three while Matt Bauer and Josh Coppa had a pair of ribs.
The PV girls softball team snapped a three-game skid and won two of the last three to improve to 10-7 overall, 9-5 in League IIIA, which puts them in second place behind Pleasantville (13-5, 11-3). Karianne Brown won for the 10th time this season and boasts a league-best 2.96 ERA. Christie Cardinale is second in the league with 14 RBI while Christina Walsh leads the team with a .404 BA and 17 runs.
The Haldane girls softball team fattened up the stat book with a four-game win streak last week. The Blue Devils put up a 29-spot on Pawling to support ace chucker Chelsea Lisikatos, who chucked a no-hitter with 12 K's to shutout Pawling. She also scored four runs while teammate Jade Lyons stole five bags and scored four runs. The Blue Devils also beat Pawling 17-1 and nipped Westlake 4-3 in nine innings Monday to improve to 8-5 overall, 5-2 in League IV-North.
Lisikatos homered and knocked in the winning run while Jen Lombardo tripled home a pair. The Blue Devils, Class C finalists a year ago, appear poised to make a strong run at a Class title beginning Saturday, May 26 when the tournament opens. A pair of one-run losses to Class B heavyweight North Salem suggests Coach Brian Ogden's club is as good as any in Class C, which could boil down to a Haldane vs. Westlake (14-3) rematch sometime down the playoff road.
The Haldane baseball team won its first game of the season, defeating Pawling 9-7. Matt Calledrillo drilled a grand slam homer in the third and Derek O'Dell tripled home two runs.
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