Brown, MacArthur win confidence game

For MacArthur, it was a contest of confidence.

The Generals had clinched the Conference AA-I championship before they ever stepped on the field at East Meadow. But this was no meaningless game.

The last time MacArthur lost a game was April 7 -- to East Meadow. Since then, the Generals have reeled off 11 wins, the latest Monday's 5-3 victory.

"We all think in our mind that each game matters," said Kristen Brown, who got the win and went 1-for-3 with a home run, walk, RBI and two runs.

MacArthur coach Bob Fehrenbach said, "Having lost to them last time, the girls had to feel they could beat them going into the playoffs."

But the confidence -- and the win -- didn't come easy.

It started off with a bang, as Brown crushed a one-out pitch to center for an inside-the-park home run in the top of the first. The shot was her sixth of the season, tying her for third place on Long Island.

SEE PHOTOSMacArthur 5, East Meadow 3

But East Meadow's Danielle Cutuli tripled with one out in the bottom of the inning and scored on Jamie Laird's single. Taylor Conti drove in Laird with a two-out single to make it 2-1 for East Meadow (8-6).

MacArthur (12-2) struck again in the third when Michelle Cozza's one-out single drove in two. In the bottom of the inning, East Meadow loaded the bases on an error, infield hit and walk, but scored just once.

It was early, but already this game had the makings of the last MacArthur-East Meadow affair, a 10-9 slugfest.

"In the beginning of the game, Kristen was just getting the ball and throwing it," Fehrenbach said. "She wasn't getting into a rhythm. We had a mound visit, she took a deep breath and then got ready to pitch."

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The results were immediate: Brown allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits through the first three innings. The final four frames were scoreless, with the Jets managing just a single hit.

And while Brown was settling down in the circle, the Generals' offense was far from finished.

"Any amount of runs is never enough; they'll keep scoring," East Meadow coach Cindy McCarthy said.

Kristin Daly led off the fourth with a ground-rule double to left. She scored on Kaitlyn Fitzsimmons' single to give MacArthur a 4-3 lead. That one-run edge held until the seventh when Emily Lyons reached on a two-out infield hit and scored on Kate McNamara's triple. Brown threw a 1-2-3 seventh.

"It's good for us to go into the playoffs with the win streak," she said. "It gives us confidence."