Despite a late rally, FDR lost to Marlboro 5-4 in the semifinals of the Mid-Hudson Athletic League championship on May 19. Roosevelt pitcher Allison Pritchard struggled early, battled throughout and would later be part of the comeback that almost won it for the Lady Presidents.
In Marlboro’s first at bat, Pritchard gave up a double and the Dukes scored shortly after on a sacrifice fly. Pritchard allowed three more base runners in the inning, including one who reached base via a hit-by-pitch. The Dukes would plate another two runs before Pritchard retired the side with a strikeout.
Things weren’t looking good for the Lady Presidents. Despite some decent early at-bats, Roosevelt couldn’t get anything to fall, and suffered a scary moment in the bottom of the third: a Marlboro runner collided, mid-sprint, with second baseman Shelby Rogers as she went to step on first base. Rogers–who got the out and ended the inning–was down for three minutes while she was tended to by coaching staff. She joined her team in the dugout and remained in the game, albeit with a bloody lip.
FDR head coach Samantha Mantor stuck with Pritchard for the remainder of the game, and the pitcher was largely able to reel it in, allowing only two more runs, including a home run in the bottom of the fifth, Marlboro’s fifth and final run of the game. The Dukes had a 5-0 lead with just two innings to play.
It was then that the Lady Presidents got busy. Roosevelt’s Maddy Lee, Alyssa Pfitscher, and Emma Izzo all reached base with none out, and Lee became FDR’s first runner to score on a Pritchard single. Sarah Pruner followed with a single–courtesy of a botched play at first–that brought home another run, and a single from Danielle Johnson pushed in a third and triggered a Marlboro pitching change.
“The kids came through when they needed to come through. We started off the inning great, put the ball in play. We started making them have to make a play, and that’s what we didn’t do enough of in the beginning of the game,” Mantor told the Observer.
Rogers–busted lip and all–drove in FDR’s final run with a hit, before the Lady Prez rally ended with a flyout.
Pritchard threw a solid bottom of the sixth, retiring the side in four Marlboro at bats, but Roosevelt couldn’t find the groove in their last half inning. Pfitscher registered a single before Pritchard lined out to end the game, on a drive that looked like it was going to drop.
Roosevelt falls to 15-3 with the loss; it’s the Lady Presidents’ first loss to a Hudson Valley team since a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Cornwall on April 3.
Roosevelt now heads into sectionals, the quarterfinals of which begin on May 27. The Lady Presidents have a solid bid for the first seed with their impressive 15-3 record, and Mantor thinks that they should be seriously considered.
“I think that this team is in the run for deserving the one seed,” she said.
The seeding meeting will be held on May 22.
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