Corrao leads Dalers to Nassau AA crown
Farmingdale High School pitcher #11 Isabella Corrao reacts after the final out in Game 3 of a best-of-three Nassau County varsity softball Class AA final vs. East Meadow. (May 26, 2011) Credit: James Escher
Hours before Thursday's game, the five seniors on the Farmingdale softball team sat at a restaurant for a senior bonding trip and county championship pregame meal.
The conversation between Kristie Summus, Victoria Kornfeld, Emily Dorso, Amanda Rivera and Isabella Corrao was dominated by one topic.
"Almost every other word was, 'Are we going to win?,''' Corrao said. "We really wanted it, so we were going to take it.''
Two years ago, Corrao took the ball for Farmingdale as a transfer from St. Dominic. She took the Dalers from Conference III to Conference I. Thursday, she took the program to new heights as No. 2 Farmingdale beat No. 4 East Meadow, 8-5, in the deciding game of the best-of-three series to win the Class AA county championship at Mitchel Athletic Complex.
"Bella put us on the map,'' Farmingdale coach Laura Malone said. "Farmingdale isn't known for softball. We didn't have a great program underneath us. So basically, when we got her we knew that we could build on it and it worked out.''
Corrao allowed 10 hits but struck out 13 and got some early help from her lunch dates. Dorso opened a five-run first with an RBI double down the third-base line and Summus capped the inning with a bases-loaded triple to put Farmingdale ahead 5-1.
"We felt like we just needed to get the job done,'' Summus said. "We've never been here before and we wanted to go to the Long Island Championship.''
Kat Zabielski, who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, led off the bottom of the third with a solo home run to the left-centerfield gap for a 6-2 lead.
"Bella came in my sophomore year and promised me she'd win me one," Zabielski said. "And together, we did it and I'm so happy."
East Meadow's Danielle Cutuli went 3-for-4, including a leadoff home run in the top of the third. Marisa San Antonio had an RBI bunt single in the sixth and Kerri Shapiro added a late two-run single for East Meadow (11-8), which fell just short of a second straight title.
Farmingdale (13-6) will play the Suffolk winner in the Long Island Championship on June 7 at Stotzky Park in Riverhead.
"This was my last opportunity and I didn't want to let it go," Corrao said. "It's something that we'll always remember.''
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
