Division freshman Rosenthal stops Island Trees

Regina DiTieri chuckled as she said it, admitting it's "kind of silly," meaning the Division softball team's pregame ritual. It's something she borrowed from her theater class, having her teammates join pinkies, then break for a synchronized clap to determine their focus level.

It's been taking them six or seven tries to get it right this season, the girls said, but Thursday they got it on two. How effective a gauge the pinkie linking is, no one knows, but the Blue Dragons were certainly in sync in their 8-3 win over neighborhood rival Island Trees.

The victory, coming on the heels of an ugly loss to Clarke on Monday, was Division's first in ABC-II. Its record is 2-4, 1-3.

"All the physical talent is on the team, but mental errors were holding us back," said DiTieri, whose booming triple to the left-centerfield gap gave Division a 6-1 lead in the fourth inning.

The Blue Dragons, who reached the Class A semifinals last spring, entered the season with questions about how they'd fare in an unforgiving conference after losing All-County pitcher Tara Lonergan.

Through three games those questions lingered, but Thursday freshman Taylor Rosenthal, facing Island Trees ace Taylor Tedeschi, answered by scattering six hits and striking out four.

"I was locating my screwball," the righthander said. "But they did a great job of hitting and helping me out."

SEE PHOTOSHigh school sports -- April

Said coach Eric Rubin: "Tara graduating was a big loss, but Taylor has terrific potential . . . I can already picture her pitching at the next level."

After the Bulldogs (2-2) went up 1-0 on Colleen Smith's RBI single in the bottom of the second, Division scored five runs in the third. Amanda Epple's single up the middle scored Alexa Sussman and Leah Gelblat to give Division the lead.

The Blue Dragons went up 7-1, then Island Trees scored in the fifth on Justine Abramowski's RBI groundout. Division added a run in the seventh on Leighann White's RBI double, and Abramowski drove in the game's last run in the seventh.

"It was hard for us to lose those three games," Epple said. "I think we'd lost a little confidence along the way. But we told ourselves there's plenty of season left, so let's push it."

The teams' rivalry truly is a friendly one, with most of the girls having grown up playing together. In the third inning, Division's Sussman was drilled in the right shoulder by an errant pickoff throw to first by Island Trees catcher Abramowski, her best friend.

"It's OK because I know where she lives," joked Sussman, who suffered a bruise. "Most of us are close, but it does get tense when we compete."