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Tour de Natalie Arrives at Class B Semis
Haldane Softball faces tough challenge in bid for Class C finals berth
by Ray Gallagher
Putnam Valley's Larry Cobb is pegged at third base on this play, but the catcher delivered two of his three RBI as a result during the top-seeded Tigers' 12-1 Section 1 Class B quarterfinal victory over Rye Monday Putnam Valley's Pat Considine swipes third base in the top-seeded Tigers' 12-1 Section 1 Class B quarterfinal win over Rye Monday.
If third-year Putnam Valley Manager Joe Natalie isn't named Class B Baseball Coach of the Year in the coming days, they should just throw the darn award away and never vote again. The guy has simply gone ahead and made chicken soup from chicken poop, and where I come from when you do the impossible you should be duly rewarded.
Just two years ago, the baseball program at Putnam Valley was a bottom feeder, getting drubbed regularly in his first season at the helm. Year 2 of the Joe Nats era saw moderate progress during a six-win season and the first playoff berth in school history. Year 3 has borne witness to a baseball renaissance in Putnam Valley: A No. 1 seed in the Class B sectional tournament, a No. 7 NYS Class B ranking, a League III-A title, a 15-4 overall record and the first playoff win in program history with Monday's 12-1 quarterfinal triumph of No. 8 Rye.
Surely, the level of talent around Natalie has improved the past two years allowing Coach Nat to kick back and watched his ace, junior Pat Considine, chuck yet another gem. The humble righthander whiffed nine over five frames and scattered but three hits and one earned run before yielding to sophomore Chris Orlando, who fanned three over the final two innings. Orlando also cracked a two-run jack in the Valley's five-run first.
"Between Pat on the mound and Chris Orlando coming out and hitting a two-run bomb in the first, we felt were in pretty good shape as far as setting the tone," Natalie said. "As the No. 1 seed, we could have come in here full of ourselves, expecting to win and going through the motions, but we didn't do that. And we weren't done after the five in the first. We had a couple of other big innings and some great at-bats from kids like Larry Cobb. Larry and some other guys got a bunch of clutch two-out hits today. And Pat, well, he still wasn't his best today. Once he takes command of the inside half of the plate, that's when you'll see him at his best. He should be ready to go again later this week in whatever role we need him."
The Tigers clocked 15 hits off four Rye hurlers, including three from sophomore 1B Matt Cordaro (3 runs, 1 RBI). Junior catcher Larry Cobb drove home three runs with a pair of hits and senior SS Josh "You Can Call Me Rope-ah" Coppa drilled two doubles and knocked in two runs. Sophomore 3B Walter Sherwood (2-3, 2 RBI, 3 runs) went yard over the left field fence to blow the game open. Junior RF Mike Vallo added an RBI single. Leadoff man Karl Lang set a mean table, doubling and scoring twice for the Tigers, who were scheduled to host defending Section 1 Class B champion Hastings Tuesday.
"We've been working on being all business the past week," said Considine, who should get overwhelming support for an All- Section nod after lowering his ERA to 1.03 for the year and adding to his school record for wins (7) and strikeouts (72) in a season. "We hadn't played for a week, so it was nice for me to have these guys come out and get me a lead. I felt pretty comfortable after that. If we can score in the first inning, I feel as though I'm pretty calm out there on the mound after that."
Should the Tigers get past Hastings, they would play for the Class B championship on Thursday against the Kennedy Catholic/ Rye Neck winner on the campus of Putnam Valley.
Who woulda thunk that? Nary a soul, that's who.
"Nobody on our team expected anything like this," said Considine. "I'm just looking for the next team now. I'll be ready to throw again whenever coach needs me."
Natalie will need him again, make no bones about it, and the coach won't hesitate due to the fact that his workhorse is good to go. Hastings will not go down easy. The defending champions hammered the Tigers on opening day. Senior pitcher Greg D'Annibale allowed six of the 12 to cross the plate that day, and in a game filled with redeeming qualities, the captain was scheduled to seek redemption on the hill Tuesday. If he can give five strong like most believe he will, Considine would have his back for the save if need be.
No matter how you slice her up, though, the Tigers have made good on a successful season, and if you believe anything about the future, believe this: Putnam Valley is not some one-year wonder. I'd be shocked if we weren't in this same position next year…
Speaking of being in the same position; both the Haldane Blue Devils softball team and the Putnam Valley boy's lacrosse team find themselves in familiar situations.
Haldane is one win away from a return trip to the Class C finals on the softball diamond, albeit one tough, tough win. The fourthseeded Blue Devils' foe this Thursday will be top-seeded, state-ranked (No. 14) North Salem, a team that has beaten the Blue Devils twice this season by a combined two runs (1-0 & 3-2) in a pair of well-pitched ball games.
Obviously, Haldane will get yet another gem from Chelsea Lisikatos, the eighth-grade phenom with the 143 K's in 97 innings pitched (try and translate those sick numbers to her senior year, but bring a data processor and a slew of technical support).
But the bats will have to pick it up against Jacky Koch, who scattered six hits and no earned runs in the first two go-rounds.
Likewise, Putnam Valley will need its finest effort if it is to take down two-time defending Class C lacrosse champion Rye this Thursday. And what's with Thursday? Why have Section 1 Athletic Directors decided to play the lacrosse and baseball championships on the same day when it makes a ton more sense to stagger the dates? Just plain foolhardy! You know what the worst part is? I don't see a dang thing scheduled for Wednesday… nothing! But I digress.
Back to lax. Tigers coach Brian Kuczma is hoping that the third time will be a charm. After consecutive defeats in the Class C title game in '06-'05 against state-ranked Rye, Putnam Valley is hoping it's "A-game" can produce the second sectional title in school history. The Tigers (7-12) breezed into the title game with lopsided victories over both Ardsley (11-2 win) and Briarcliff (13- 8 win). Young Dillon Chesnut, just a sophomore, ain't so young anymore after pumping home a career-high three goals and two assists in a five-point semifinal win against Ardsley. Peter Morgan (3G, 2A), Tom Kelly (4G), Hugh O'Gorman (2G, 1A) and Jimmy Fitzsimmons (3G) led the way against Briarcliff. Every single one of the aforementioned will have to be on against Rye this Thursday in the middle game of a triple header at Suffern Middle School (6pm), or the Tigers can forget about their second crowning moment. Slice it, dice it… doesn't matter. The Tigers are back where we said they'd be at the start of the season: Another sterling performance, boys.
The Putnam Valley softball team (12-7) was alive and kicking at the time of this post, preparing for a run at Valhalla in the Class B quarters. Meanwhile, both sprinter Christine Kemp and thrower Kerri Lopuzzo were on the verge of qualifying for the NYS meet. Great spring overall for the kids at Putnam Valley.
Visit the photo galleries at www.yourdirectrays.com for Section 1 sports, including Putnam Valley and Haldane High School.
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