Calhoun moves one win from county softball title behind Sophia Nicastro's bat and arm
Sophia Nicastro of Calhoun during the NassauClass AA softball final against Mac Arthur on Sunday in Farmingdale. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
Sophia Nicastro already had allowed a run in the fourth inning and faced a bases-loaded, one-out jam.
With Calhoun ahead by a run, Nicastro took a breath and let her arm do the work. She struck out two batters to escape the jam as top-seeded Calhoun beat third-seeded MacArthur, 4-2, in Game 1 of the Nassau Class AA softball championship series at Farmingdale State on Sunday afternoon.
“I took a breath and tried to slow everything down,” said Nicastro, who struck out 10 and allowed five hits in a complete game. “I just calmed myself. Told myself everything was fine and that I’d get out of it.”
Calhoun’s Megan Hobdy led off the second with a double and scored on an error. Selma Radoncic singled and took off for second during the next at-bat, getting caught in a rundown and allowing Madison Martins to race home for a 2-0 Calhoun lead.
Kaitlyn DiPaola singled in the fourth and scored on Martins’ sacrifice fly to put Calhoun ahead 3-1.
Gianna Spaventa singled to lead off the fifth for MacArthur. Anabelle Maria’s two-out RBI single cut the Generals’ deficit to 3-2, but Nicastro induced a pop-up to strand runners at first and third.
Nicastro extended the lead to two runs with an RBI double in the fifth that drove in pinch runner Gabby Mifsud.
“We were hitting the ball hard and finding the right spots,” Nicastro said. “We played small ball when we needed to and everyone just wanted to contribute.”
Calhoun (14-12) will try to close out the series against MacArthur (12-13) in Game 2 at Farmingdale State at 7 p.m. on Monday.
“We’re familiar with MacArthur, so that gave us some confidence,” Hobdy said. “Our energy was up from the very beginning and now with this win, we’re in a good spot.”
“MacArthur is a championship-caliber program. They’ve been here before and are a formidable opponent,” Calhoun coach Michael Pisano said. “It was important for us to grab this win and show the kind of team we are. We’ll go into tomorrow like our backs are against the wall. We certainly won’t get comfortable.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.
