Soriente's big hit makes Plainedge champs

For Giana Soriente, two of her at-bats had very different results yet equal importance. One was a groundout to second base. The other was a walk-off hit that won a county championship.

Let her explain.

"I've been on and off all season, hitting then not hitting," the Plainedge sophomore outfielder said. "I struggled at times, I was in and out of the lineup. By the end of the season, I was completely out. So to get this chance and have this hit means so much."

The reason she got that chance is because of a groundout. In Game 1 of the county championship series on Wednesday, she battled while pinch-hitting, made solid contact but hit a sharp grounder to the second baseman. The at-bat earned her the start Thursday.

That's where Soriente drilled a two-out triple to right-centerfield to bring home Jackie Oleksak and give No. 2 Plainedge a 2-1 win over No. 1 Island Trees, completing a two-game sweep in the Class A county championship series at Mitchel Athletic Complex.

Oleksak singled to score Kim Nowak in the bottom of the second inning to give Plainedge a 1-0 lead.

Island Trees' Nicole Pellegrino tripled in the top of the sixth inning and came around to score on a single by Tori Tedeschi to tie the game at 1. Alannah Basile tossed 8 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts.

SEE PHOTOSPlainedge 2, Island Trees 1

Kim Nowak continued her dominant postseason run, allowing five hits, one walk and one run with two strikeouts in a complete game.

Plainedge, which won its first county title since 1999, will play the Suffolk champion for the Long Island Championship on June 5 at Mitchel.

"It's indescribable," Nowak said of the win. "We're going to celebrate, then we're going to work hard and get ready for our next game."