Ruby Seaman's bat powers Farmingdale softball to win over East Meadow
Ruby Seaman of Farmingdale drives one over the fence to tie the score against East Meadow during a Nassau softball game on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in East Meadow. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Ruby Seaman hadn’t been showcasing her offense much this season. But, against East Meadow, she produced in every big spot.
Seaman went 3-for-3 with a home run, double and a walk as Farmingdale defeated host East Meadow, 8-4, in Nassau Conference I softball on Wednesday morning.
“I haven’t been hitting well this season,” Seaman said. "[On Wednesday] I saw the pitcher well and when I had the opportunity to see a good pitch, I put a swing on it.”
East Meadow's Julia Parise hit a home run in the first inning to put the Jets ahead, 1-0. Seaman responded with a solo home run to tie the score in the second. Parise also finished 3-for-3 with a walk.
“That was my first home run, I don’t usually swing for the fences,” Seaman said. “I knew we needed to get things going, so I saw the pitch and took it for a ride.”
Seaman led off the fifth with a walk and moved around the bases on a bunt by Nikki Athanasiou and an Olivia Feldman single. Seaman, a junior shortstop, came home on Ava Fierst's groundout, giving Farmingdale (7-4) a 2-1 lead.
“We tend to leave a lot of runners on,” Seaman said. “It’s coming down to the end of the season and we know we have to pick it up.”
Seaman came up again with two runners in scoring position and two outs in the sixth. She hit a sharp grounder to bring home pitcher Juliana Abbene, increasing the Dalers' lead to 3-1. Three errors allowed two more runs to score in the inning.
East Meadow's Melia Campbell singled to load the bases with one out in the sixth. Gianna Cavazza launched a ball that was tracked down at the wall by Fierst, just feet away from becoming a game-tying grand slam.
“Even when I give up a good hit, I turn around and [Fierst] is there,” Abbene said. “I trust anything that heads out there, that she will make the catch.”
Abbene doubled in the seventh and came home on Megan Scott’s double. Katie Hecker followed with a two-run home run for an 8-2 lead. Seaman doubled in her final at-bat.
East Meadow (4-6) scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a Madison Lehmann single and a two-out walk by Cavazza. With the tying run at-bat, Abbene induced a grounder and tossed it to first to end the game.
“She did a great job. Sometimes she overthrows to overcompensate, but that’s ok,” Farmingdale coach Theresa Magnani said. “She normally throws outs and she bounced back well.”
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.
