Dalers fall in state softball heartbreaker

QUEENSBURY, N.Y. --It was just before the top of the sixth inning Saturday, Farmingdale was clinging to a one-run lead against East Fishkill John Jay in the middle of a downpour and several bystanders couldn't believe the game was still proceeding.

Two other softball semifinals at the Adirondack Sports Complex had been suspended, and John Jay coach Bonnie Schilling was threatening to pull her team off a field she called "unsafe."

But it turned out that Farmingdale's tenuous lead was what was truly unsafe, and by the time John Jay was done, that lead was gone for good.

Dalers ace Isabella Corrao struck out 16 batters in a two-hitter, but John Jay scored three unearned runs in the sixth to beat Farmingdale, 3-1, Saturday in the Class AA state semifinals.

Though Farmingdale's (14-7) season is done, 2011 did produce the team's first county title and Long Island Championship.

"It was a magical year for all of them," coach Laura Malone said. "After all the emotions are over, they're going to sit back and realize this is something that no other Farmingdale team has done. They'll have these memories for the rest of their lives."

Said Corrao: "We have to always remember what we did this year. States is where the big players go. But anyone can beat any team any day, and I guess that's what happened."

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With one out in the sixth, Corrao walked a batter and allowed a single after a hard hit ball smacked off the palm of her glove and skidded to the back of the pitching circle. A passed ball advanced both runners a base, and Corrao got Tateum Valentine to loft a fly ball to right. It was the only ball to reach the outfield with Corrao in the circle.

But with the hardest rain of the day streaming down, the ball glanced off the glove of right fielder Jenna Crawford, allowing both runners to score and Valentine to reach third.

"It was only that one inning it was pouring, but when it was pouring it was bad," said Corrao, who threw 126 pitches and delivered first-pitch strikes to 18 of 29 hitters. "It was cold, wet, muddy."

After Corrao struck out Amanda Gisonni looking, another passed ball scored Tateum to give John Jay a 3-1 lead. Corrao struck out Vicky Lattanzio to finally end the inning.

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Farmingdale took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a rally indicative of the team's tough play throughout the postseason. With two outs, Emily Dorso singled down the left field line and Kat Zabielski walked. Kerri Ossenforst reached on an error to load the bases and Crawford walked to score a run.

But that was all Farmingdale could muster against Amanda Gisonni, who struck out just five batters but kept the Dalers off-balance with a change-up.

"That's what she did well, she played with your head," said Zabielski, who entered the game hitting over .530 in the playoffs. "She came first pitch strike, and a lot of us didn't jump on that, including myself. And then we let her play with our minds. She threw the change-up in not normal situations and kept us guessing."

But as Zabielski talked about the disappointing loss, she nonetheless seemed appreciative of the journey that brought Farmingdale the 230 miles to Queensbury.

"We just need a moment to take it all in," she said. "We set so many records. We did what nobody said we could do. It's a miracle."