Schools
Pearl River Softball Travels to Find New Competition
Pearl River will face two teams from the Albany area, Burnt Hills and Niskayuna, Saturday in the NYSSCOGS Softball Festival in Herkimer.
Some high school students get the opportunity to travel over spring break.
Herkimer, NY may not be the first destination to come to mind, but that is exactly where the Pearl River softball team is headed as the school's spring break begins this weekend.
Pearl River will play in the NYSSCOGS Softball Festival in Herkimer Saturday, taking on Burnt Hills at 2:30 p.m. and Niskayusa at 4:30 p.m.
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"Every weekend, teams from around the state converge, 12 at a time," Pearl River coach Mike Carlacci said of the tournament. "They break into groups by ability. We’re among the top three teams going this weekend."
Burnt Hills and Niskayusa are both Section 2 schools, located near Albany. Part of the draw of the tournament is to face unfamiliar competition.
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"Absolutely, it’s nice to go some play teams from around the state, to see where you are by comparison," Carlacci said. "We’re used to the teams from around here, so it is good to see some different teams."
Just playing the games would be a positive step. Pearl River has played twice so far, defeating Suffern March 31 and Walater Panas April 8. A game against Tappan Zee has been rained out twice. No make-up date has been set for that one yet. Carlacci said that has made it difficult to judge his team.
If it rains Saturday, the games would be made up Sunday.
"That’s the biggest thing," Carlacci said. "We haven’t gotten any kind of consistency. We have not been able to go outside more than two or three days in a row. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks, it starts to get nicer and we can get on the field consistently."
The Pirates are relatively healthy. Senior pitcher Katie O'Flynn continues to work her way to 100 percent after an offseason knee injury and turned in a dominant performance against Walter Panas, striking out 15 in a one-hit shutout.
Junior center fielder Kristyn Neroda injured her shoulder in the opener, but she was able to return to play against Walter Panas.
Pearl River's next game in the area is 4:30 p.m. April 19 at Harrison.
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