Pearl River Advances to Softball Finals

Pearl River earned a trip to the Section 1 Class A finals as senior Katie O’Flynn launched her team to a 7-0 home victory over Pelham in Thursday's semifinal.

O'Flynn produced with her bat and her arm, with plenty of support from her teammates.

by getting it done on the mound and at the plate on Thursday. The Pirates hit well and played tight defense behind O’Flynn as they navigated past Pelham.

“They played a great game today,” said Pearl River Coach Mike Carlacci. “It means a lot to see this group of seniors get back to section finals again, but I’m proud of all of them.”

“We had nothing to lose today,” said Pelham Coach Keith Maley. “Pearl River is a great team, I have all the respect in the world for what Mike (Carlacci) is doing over there. We just came out flat and made mistakes we don’t normally make. 10 of our 12 girls are coming back next year. They’ll learn from this and be hungry in the future.”

O’Flynn came out and pitched a perfect first inning, but it was a two-run home run over the left field wall that really got the Pirates going.

“That was my first home run in a long time,” said O’Flynn. “Today was a great win. Winning sections is one of the hardest things to do and we are glad to be back.”

O'Flynn's home run pushed the lead to 3-0. Senior catcher Jamie DeGennaro had given the Pirates their first run with an infield single that scored junior outfielder Kristyn Neroda.

Pearl River added three more runs in the seocnd inning. Junior third baseman Amanda Hartigan doubled home senior second baseman Kaity Goldrick, then scored on a fielder's choice by Neroda. Neroda stole second, moved to third on a single by senior shortstop Gemma Mahoney and scored on a sacrifice fly by DeGennaro.

Goldrick singled to drive in junior left fielder Nicole Leote with the Pirates final run in the third inning.

 That was more than enough for O’Flynn, who struck out seven and walked one in a three-hit shutout.

who posted seven K’s and a shut-out allowing only three hits and a single walk.

It has been a long ride for the Pirates seniors who credit their success to hard work and a family-style work ethic.

“I just have a really great feeling after this win today,” said Mahoney. “We have been on the field together for so long; we are like a family. We play for each other out there and try to pick each other up whenever we can. I am just happy that after working so hard all season our goal is finally within reach.”

“This is definitely the closest team I’ve ever been on,” O’Flynn said. “It’s so sad to see it ending but we want to finish strong. Our team has five freshmen and it has been great playing with them and watching them learn. I put my heart out there every time I step out there. I left my heart out there today and it will always be in Pearl River.”

Top-seeded Pearl River (22-1) will play No. 2 Eastchester in the section championship game 5:30 p.m. Saturday at North Rockland High School. Pelham finished its season 15-7.

Pearl River 7, Pelham 0

Pelham         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0  3   3
Pearl River  3 3 1  0 0 0 0 -- 7 10 0
WP: Katie O'Flynn (19-1); LP: Kelly Keith (14-7)