Montemarano leads Seaford past Plainedge

Lindsay Montemarano was lacking her usual verve. Her coughing between pitches in the circle; her chants not being the loudest coming from the Seaford dugout -- residual effects of a weekend spent battling a sinus infection and a fever that reached 104 on Saturday.

"I still feel down," the Vikings star said, "but I guess adrenaline got me through it."

Perhaps the ball came down with something, too. The pitcher was ill, but the changeup was sick as Montemarano led Seaford to a 3-1 win over top-seeded Plainedge in Game 1 of the Nassau Class A finals Monday.

She allowed six hits (two that reached the outfield) with four strikeouts, and went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs.

"Lindsay's a great player, but she's also a trooper," said Victoria Wink, who was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. "She battled through it."

Wink gave the third-seeded Vikings (13-5) a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Montemarano got on with two outs, hustling a double out of a chopper through the shortstop hole. Wink followed with a similarly struck ball that sneaked through for a single.

"When you score early and get momentum," Wink said, "it takes you through the rest of the game."

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Seaford went up 3-0 in the fifth when Montemarano blasted a double to the right-centerfield gap that scored Nicole Nulty from first, then Wink followed with a line single to right.

"She's one of the best pitchers in the county and you try your hardest when you face her," Montemarano said of Plainedge ace Michele Daubman, who uncharacteristically allowed eight hits, despite fanning seven.

The Red Devils (18-2) scratched a run in the sixth when Taylor Curran came home on Megan Andrews' single -- a pop-up with the infield in that landed behind second.

"We were in last place at one point," Vikings coach Rob Perpall said, marveling at his team's rebound from a 3-5 start. Seaford had twice been blown out by Plainedge in the regular season, including a 9-0 loss that preceded their current 10-game win streak. The Red Devils had also edged them, 3-2, with a seventh-inning comeback in last year's semifinals. The teams will play Game 2 at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Mitchel Athletic Complex.

"We lost in counties when I was in eighth grade," Montemarano, a sophomore, said of being a win away from a championship. "I've wanted this so bad."