The Miller Place Panthers have just one more obstacle to conquer to be called New York State Champs.
On a sun drenched field this morning the Miller Place girls softball team shined the brightest in advancing to the New York State Finals. After defeating Pittsford Sutherland 4-1 they now will be back on Martha Avenue Field to battle for the ultimate title.
It was a pitcher's duel early on but the Panthers broke through when they scored on a fielder's choice to the right side in the first and then Brooke Callaghan roped a single up the middle to make the score 2-0 in the 2nd inning. Little did Sutherland know, that might be all that star pitcher Ava Zicchinelli would need on the day.
The next time that Sutherland came to bat Zicchinelli worked around an error by striking out the next batter and then inducing a double play. The error was a tough play on the turf and the coaching staff commented that it was a new experience to play on the playoff surface. If 2-0 was enough for Zicchinelli to win the game, then Breya Kesler's RBI single to make it 4-0 must have seemed like it was the final dagger to the Knights.
The Knights tried to fight back but each time they were sent away by Zucchinelli. An error on the second baseman and a diving try off of the shortstop's glove led to the only run she would allow on the day. But, The Knights believed they had some life left when with runners on 2nd and 3rd and "Big Ella" Delaney up to bat she was hit by the pitch. Zucchinelli beared down and struck out the next batter and then had a weak grounder come back to her to keep the game 4-1.
Zucchinelli seemed to be as strong in the 7th as she was in the first as her team could feel the win. She struck out the first batter on three pitches, then the next batter was set down on strikes and with one out to go a weak grounder to second ended the game. Miller Place now will take on Marlboro who ended Ichabod Crane's 33 game winning streak with a 2-0 victory.