Lyons, McNamara help MacArthur win AA-I

There was power in the circle and power at the plate. Farmingdale's Isabella Corrao is known for her blazing fastball and MacArthur boasts two of the top home run hitters on the Island in Kate McNamara and Kristen Brown.

But the Generals traded in slugging for small ball as they pounded out 11 hits -- just one for extra bases -- to down host Farmingdale, 4-1, on Friday.

With the win, MacArthur (11-2) clinched first place in Nassau Conference AA-I. It's the 10th straight win for the Generals, a streak that started April 11 against Farmingdale.

MacArthur took an early lead as Krissy Gay opened up the third inning with a single to center, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and took third on a passed ball. Brown (2-for-4, two runs, stolen base) followed with a ground ball, but was called safe when the third baseman checked Gay back to the bag. By the time she looked toward first, Brown had her foot on the base. Emily Lyons hit a bloop double to leftfield to score one run and McNamara followed with a single for a 2-0 lead. Corrao struck out the next two batters -- she fanned 12 total -- to end the threat.

"When I knocked in that run, it seemed to get everybody up and into it," said Lyons, who was 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and run. "We sometimes wait until later to get runs. It was nice to get on top early."

The Dalers nearly got back in the game with two outs in the fifth, when Corrao hit a long fly ball to deep center. But with no fence at Farmingdale (9-5) and the outfield playing back, it landed harmlessly in the centerfielder's glove. In the sixth, the Dalers finally broke through, taking advantage of a one-out error to score a run, courtesy of Kat Zabielski's single that trimmed the lead to 2-1.

But the momentum was lost in an instant. MacArthur scored twice in the top of the seventh when Briana Lombardo lined a two-out single to right-center.

SEE PHOTOSMacArthur 4, Farmingdale 1

"I wanted to swing at whatever was close," Lombardo said. "I got an outside pitch and drove it to right."

Brown, who allowed just three hits and a walk, struck out the first two batters of the seventh, then got the final batter to ground to second.

"My team was behind me the whole time," Brown said. "All I thought to myself was, just be strong and throw your pitches."