Corrao's 14 Ks lift Dalers past Bay Shore

Playing with house money, Farmingdale broke the bank.

"Bay Shore definitely had a lot more pressure than us; they were expected to win," Farmingdale's Kat Zabielski said. "So we just came out the way we did and played our game."

Isabella Corrao struck out 14 in a masterful performance as Farmingdale beat undefeated Bay Shore, 2-0, in the Class AA Long Island Championship at Bellport Martha Avenue Field Tuesday. Farmingdale (14-6) advances to the state softball semifinals Saturday at the Adirondack Sports Complex in Queensbury.

"Bella, simply she's the best," Malone said. "When she's working hard, she's unstoppable."

Farmingdale took the lead in the top of the third when Emily Finkel reached on a two-out bunt and went to third on Emily Dorso's double to left. Zabielski, who entered hitting .530 this postseason, ripped a two-run single to right.

"The first time I got up, I expected two balls away, got them, but just couldn't pull the trigger," Zabielski said. "Second at-bat, I just knew I had to get it done. I looked for the first outside pitch I could drive and just took it into rightfield."

Zabielski's hit also put Bay Shore (25-1) in the very unfamiliar position of being behind. The Suffolk powerhouse allowed just 19 total runs to its opponents during the regular season while simultaneously sinking challengers with an offense that scored more than 150 runs.

SEE PHOTOSClass AA final: Farmingdale 2, Bay Shore 0

But there would be no Bay Shore blowout. Corrao did the heavy lifting, but those other seven outs were no cakewalk.

Bay Shore put runners on first and third with two outs in the first inning, but Corrao struck out the next batter to keep things scoreless. In the fourth, the Marauders again put runners on the corners, this time with one out. But Sarah Edwards hit into a fielder's choice and Briana Coan was called out at home. Corrao struck out the next batter for another scoreless inning. "I just pitch to the batters," Corrao said. "I look at them taking practice swings, warming up. You just work around what they give you."

The fifth inning saw runners at first and second with two outs, but Corrao again got a punch-out to walk into the dugout unscathed. After striking out the first two hitters in the seventh, Giana Panariello gave Bay Shore some hope with an infield hit. But Corrao struck out the final batter to seal it.

Taylor McGowan struck out eight and combined with catcher Panariello for a tightly pitched game. Panariello, the regular third baseman, filled in at catcher after normal backstop and power-hitting standout Courtney Syrett's left ankle sprain worsened following Bay Shore's county finals win.

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"I'm not ready to process my career. I'm ready to process this game," said an emotional Jim McGowan, the longtime Bay Shore coach who's retiring after the season. "I told these kids, if we're going to lose this year, we're going to lose to a team that's better than us.

"And they were better than us today."