Lady Kingsmen Win Class A Softball Championship

Lindsay Taylor's incredible pitching. Timely hitting. Wash, rinse, repeat. That's been the formula Kings Park has followed for years, nudging closer and closer to their first Class A title.

Thursday, in Taylor's final Section XI game, they were finally crowned champions, defeating Sayville in Game 2 of the best-of-three series, 8-2 at Sayville High School.

Suffolk County's all-time leader in strikeouts fanned 12 Sayville batters and allowed two runs on only three hits to carry the Lady Kingsmen to their first Class A championship in school history.

They advance to the Regional Finals where they will meet Seaford, the Nassau County champion, on Tuesday at Martha Avenue Field in Bellport at 4:30.

"We’re going to go in just like we played every other game this season, and we should be fine," said Kings Park (22-2) head coach Kim McGinley.

The Golden Flashes (16-8) jumped on Taylor early, scoring two runs on two hits and a walk in the first inning to erase a 1-0 deficit.

Starting pitcher Kathleen Maehr lined a single off Taylor, scoring Kira Karl, and after stealing second, scored on another base hit to centerfield by Cindy Griffin.

"The field’s a little tough with the shadows and things," said McGinley. "She couldn’t pick it up right away. But she adjusted and she was on. She was hitting her corners, her spins were there and she took it."

After that inning, Taylor regrouped, striking out eight of the next nine batters she faced. She struck out 12 in all, and allowed just one batter to reach base after the first inning.

"I think after that first inning, I kind of settled in, settled down," said Taylor. "I adjusted and got into a groove. Everyone else kind of picked up on that, and we just got more into it and a lot more intense."

Sayville's defense didn't give Maehr much help making that lead last, however. In the top of the second, Nicole Torlincasi advanced to second after a toss back from left field went astray. Sabrina Jankowski followed with a ground ball to shortstop Emily Sellitti, who saw Torlincasi wandering off second base.

Sellitti turned to pick off the runner and sailed a throw that rolled deep into the fenceless right centerfield. Torlincasi scored and Jankowski ended up at third on a simple ground ball.

Sayville committed five errors in all, perhaps none more costly than Sellitti's first of two.

"Obviously when you give any team extra outs, it’s hard," said Sayville head coach Tiffany Rowan. "But we’ve kind of done that all season. We have a good hitting team, but you can’t be giving any team extra outs, especially in the playoffs because every team you face is going to be good."

Torlincasi started another rally in the fourth inning, when she lead off with a triple to deep centerfield. She came around to score on a single off the bat of Ariana Ambrosio, which ended up being the game-winning run.

After adding a run in the fifth inning, Cheyenne Giarraputo rocked a one-out triple with the bases loaded to extend the Lady Kingsmen's lead to 8-2.

"Cheyenne Giarraputo coming up, as a rookie ninth grader, just pulled back, got out in front and gave it a ride," said McGinley. "They picked up where we needed to. Sayville had a few faux pas as they say, and we took advantage of it."