East Islip wins Suffolk Class A softball title in walk-off fashion
East Islip celebrates their win during the Suffolk softball Class A final against Islip. May 28, 2022 Credit: Doug Cioffi
Sarah Birner thought her season was over.
After dislocating her ankle at the end of March and being told by doctors that she would miss the remainder of the season, the East Islip softball team’s second baseman broke down into tears.
Yet on Saturday afternoon, there was Birner, sliding safely headfirst into home plate as No. 1 East Islip clinched a walk-off 4-3 win over No. 2 Islip in the bottom of the eighth inning on Kailyn Bloch’s sacrifice fly to capture the Suffolk Class A title. East Islip secured its first county title since 2017.
East Islip (23-1) extended its winning streak to 15 games and advances to the Long Island Class A championship against the winner of Calhoun/Mepham on June 4 at 10 a.m. at Moriches Athletic Complex.
Despite her initial diagnosis, Birner recovered quickly enough to return less than two weeks ago. As she celebrated with her teammates, Birner’s eyes filled with tears once again. But this time, of joy.
“It was a rough game and I’m just glad that we came through,” Birner said. “It’s a great feeling after being out for eight weeks. It really seals the deal. Fast recovery and we get a big win.”
East Islip coach Jason McGowan rejoiced in Birner’s full-circle journey.
“For Sarah to just come back after what she went through and score the winning run to win the county final,” McGowan said. “It’s beautiful.”
Birner led off the eighth with a walk and that was followed by two consecutive hit batters. Bloch then lifted a deep fly ball to right to score Birner.
“I just wanted to do whatever I possibly could to get the run in,” Bloch said. “This is amazing and I’m just so proud of all of us.”
Islip (15-6) entered the seventh ahead 3-2 until Alyssa Benvengo's squeeze bunt with one out and runners on the corners scored Madison Sturtz to tie it at 3. Benvengo also had an RBI groundout in the fifth.
“I’m so excited that we were able to pull out this win,” Benvengo said. “We all knew we could do this from the start.”
Kyra Kreuscher persevered after walking eight batters to earn the victory against Lauren McSweeney, who also went the distance. Kreuscher understood the need to remain poised despite her struggles.
“I was having a pretty off day today,” Kreuscher said. “But I battled through it, knew what was at stake and got it done.”
McGowan believes Kreuscher’s day further exemplified one of the team’s primary components that contributed toward a county title.
“I’m just so proud of these girls,” McGowan said. “There’s no quit in them. They’re one of the toughest groups I’ve ever coached and are so resilient.”
