Erin McMahon does it all to spur Bayport-Blue Point softball to Suffolk Class A crown
Bayport-Blue Point's Erin McMahon (52) throws a pitch in the sixth inning during the Suffolk softball Class A Final between Bayport-Blue Point and Hauppauge on Saturday May 27, 2023. Credit: Bob Sorensen
After the dust had settled, Erin McMahon stood alone, raking the pitcher’s circle as if it was just another day.
As if she hadn’t just willed eighth-seeded Bayport-Blue Point to a Suffolk Class A softball title on her home field.
McMahon struck out 13 batters and hit the go-ahead two-run single in the fifth inning of Bayport’s 5-2 win over No. 3 Hauppauge Saturday morning. It marks the Phantoms’ first county title since 2005.
“She’s a perfectionist,” Bayport coach Nicholle Marchetta said of McMahon. “If something isn’t working the way she wants, she’s going to put that extra time in even if it’s the 25th hour of a 24-hour day.”
In the COVID-abbreviated 2021 season, McMahon led the Phantoms to the county final, where they came up short against Miller Place. She had to wait an extra year to avenge that loss, as she missed all of last season with a stress fracture in her back.
“That loss comes back to me at random times,” said McMahon, a senior. “You think about what you could’ve done better and the outcome that you wish had happened. We’ve been working to get back there the last two years and now that we’ve actually done it, it feels really good.”
With the bases loaded and one out, McMahon hit a missile off the left-centerfield fence, scoring Alyna Dolan and Linda Edwards to give Bayport a 3-2 lead. When the two teams met on Tuesday, McMahon went 0-for-4 in Bayport’s 6-3 win to advance to the final.
“Everybody’s been pitching me outside during the playoffs, so last night, I just worked on hitting the outside pitch,” McMahon said. “I was thinking, ‘Let it travel and get it to left,’ and it worked out.”
Later in the inning, Lianna McCormack lined a single to rightfield to score Renee McGowan. Avery Crank followed with a double to center to score Erin Wuestmann.
“We had to get more of a lead,” McCormack said. “I just wanted to get in the box and not think, just hit.”
Bayport (20-4) will face the winner of MacArthur/Clarke in the Long Island championship at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at SUNY Farmingdale.
McMahon totaled three RBIs, as she drove in Edwards on a single up the middle in the first inning. Kristin Kloss tried to score from second but was cut off by a strong throw from Hauppauge centerfielder Kadie Cain.
Stefania Abruscato drove in her sister, Crisalyn, on a double to centerfield in the first inning. Stefania later scored on a wild pitch to take a 2-0 lead for Hauppauge, which finished 18-6.
McMahon got Stefania to pop out to Kloss at shortstop for the final out. Then the celebration ensued, causing the dust storm around the pitcher’s circle.
