Miller's diving catch saves East Meadow's title

There was that light "ping," the ball coming off the end of Kelly Fitzsimmons' bat for a shallow bloop to center that was dropping fast with two on in the bottom of the ninth.

"I have to get it," centerfielder Sam Miller told herself. A few strides: "Give yourself up and get it." A couple more: "If I break my arm, I'm getting it."

She got it with a spectacular diving catch, reaching across her body and tumbling on her side. Two outs.

"When I hit the ground I saw the girl rounding second," said Miller, who sprung to her feet and fired to second to complete the double play - the biggest play in East Meadow's county championship season.

After years of postseason heartbreaks, the Jets earned the Nassau Class AA softball title Tuesday, 5-2, over MacArthur.

"I'm on cloud nine," said pitcher Lindsay McKillop, who joined her teammates in tossing their gloves like caps on graduation day. For top-seeded East Meadow, title-less since 1994, this sort of was. "I had to find Sam and pick her up."

It was her teammates who first picked her up. McKillop allowed seven hits, struck out only one and, admittedly "wasn't too sharp." But Danielle Cutuli's triple to right-centerfield had scored Rachel Sidney to give the Jets (18-1) a 3-2 lead in the top of the inning.

"I saw the ball rolling and thought, 'Oh, my God, keep going!' " said Cutuli, a freshman. McKillop followed with a double to left, then Jamie Laird lined a single to center.

"We just fell apart in that last inning," said Kristen Brown, who had led the sixth-seeded Generals (16-7) to a series of playoff upsets. "I have all the respect in the world for East Meadow."

The Jets took a 2-0 lead on McKillop's RBI single in the third, but Brown crushed a solo homer to left in the fourth and Hayley Myles' RBI single tied it in the fifth.

"I didn't have to settle her down," catcher Brittany Anghel said of McKillop, a close friend since age 8. "She looks in my eyes and we know, 'Let's get this done.' "

SEE PHOTOSHigh school sports -- May

That they did, after the previous two seasons ended in the semifinals.

As the Jets skipped off the field with T-Pain's "All I Do Is Win" blaring, coach Cindy McCarthy sang along. McKillop raised her right arm and hoisted the championship plaque. For then, that would do.

Plainedge wins. Stephanie McKenna's RBI triple in the first was the only run pitcher Michele Daubman needed as No. 3 Plainedge beat Floral Park, 1-0, in Game 2 of the Class A finals to tie the series.

Oyster Bay wins. Joshlyn Grant's walk-off homer in the seventh gave the second-seeded Baymen a 2-1 win over Carle Place in Game 2, tying the best-of-three Class B finals.

East Rockaway wins. Gianna Cilluffo and Kim Pacheco had RBI singles in the second inning to lead No. 2 East Rockaway, last year's runner-up, to its fifth Class C title in six seasons with a 3-1 win over Friends Academy. Katie Seifert pitched a six-hitter.