Saturday, April 21, 2012

Hit parade: Tottenville batters Construction

The better the pitching, the better Tottenville produces.

“We are all used to travel [ball],” sophomore Jillian Regan said. “It’s difficult to adjust to the slower pitching.”

The Pirates struggled with their timing earlier this week for five innings against Madison ace Cheyenne Tatesure, but pounded out 13 hits against Construction’s hard-throwing Britney Rodriguez, considered one of the city’s best windmillers. That added up to an impressive 15-2 win over the host Red Hawks in a PSAL Class A crossover game at Smokey Oval Park on Friday.

“She is one of the best pitchers we’ve seen all season long and to hit her so hard [is impressive],” Tottenville coach Cathy Morano said. “But they like to hit against pitchers like this.”

Robert Cole

Tottenville's Jillian Regan had two hits and two RBIs against Construction on Friday

The Pirates, ranked No. 1 in the city by The Post, scored a run in the second, four times each in the third, fifth and seventh and got two other runs in the fourth. Five players had at least two hits and seven drove in at least a run. Cheryl Lopez was 3-for-3 with a sac fly, had two RBIs and was a home run short of the cycle. Regan was 2-for-2 with a double, triple, two walks and two RBIs. Nylah Ramirez had two hits and drove in three and Stephanie Tufano collected two hits and had two RBIs.

“I honestly think we do better against faster pitching,” Lopez said.

The junior ace was again dominant in the circle. She surrendered just two hits when No. 6 Construction (6-1) scored two in the fourth to make it 7-2, and struck out 13. The Pirates feel like this eight-day stretch against some of the PSAL’s top teams has brought out their best this team. They are a win over rival Susan Wagner on Monday – barring the traditional rain – from finishing a perfect 4-0.

“It’s proved that we are the team to beat and no matter what anyone else says we can come up and beat the teams that are better this year,” Regan said.

Construction, who many figured would be one of Tottenville’s biggest challengers to another city title, is in a bit of a transition with junior shortstop Alicia Gonzalez leaving the team in a mutual decision with coach Marco Migliaccio. It shifted the defense with sophomore Amy Pirozek moving to short and freshman Nicole Ovelheira now at second. Construction made eight errors, most leading to runners advancing after hits.

“We had a tough day, but it’s a very good learning day,” Migliaccio said. … “That’s a great team. They are going to put the ball in play. We got to make the plays.”

Tottenville on the other hand is making it clear during this stretch, with one more big game left, that this group is beginning to come into its own as it looks for yet another crown.

“You play the better competition,” Morano said. “We are starting to play better. We are starting to get a lot more focused in what we are doing.”

j staszewski@nypost.com

Jillian Regan, Tottenville, Tottenville, Madison ace Cheyenne Tatesure, Cathy Morano, Britney Rodriguez, Susan Wagner, Cheryl Lopez, Stephanie Tufano, Regan

Nypost.com

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