Krystal Quizhpe swings away, ignites East Meadow's big inning to beat Massapequa
Krystal Quizhpe #12, East Meadow shortstop, slides home to extend the Jets' lead over Massapequa to 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning of a Nassau Conference I softball game at East Meadow High School on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Credit: James Escher
Krystal Quizhpe's resiliency in a single at-bat made all the difference for East Meadow.
Quizhpe failed to bunt a runner over from first base on her first two strikes but fouled off the next two pitches before hitting a grounder through the infield.
That hit set the stage for East Meadow’s four-run sixth inning as it defeated Massapequa, 5-1, in Nassau I softball, Wednesday night at East Meadow.
“I was dropping my bat, so I fouled off the bunts with my first two strikes,” Quizhpe said. “I got the sign to hit and when I got a good pitch, I was able to get it through.”
Quizhpe’s hit set up Brooke Errico’s RBI infield single that drove in Charlotte Viola. Quizhpe rounded third base hard on the hit, drawing a throw to the catcher, which was off target and allowed her to come home and make it 3-1 East Meadow.
“I stopped midway after I rounded third and they threw it home,” Quizhpe said. "I saw the catcher wasn’t in great position to catch the ball and once it got past her, I came home.”
Julia Parise drove in Errico with a line-drive single and East Meadow scored its final run on Madison Lehmann’s RBI groundout.
“I had two strikes on me and I was thinking about just getting the ball in play,” Parise said. “So my mentality was just hitting the ball to get us in a better position to win.”
Massapequa scored its only run on a Lauren O’Brien RBI single in the top of the fifth inning. Parise set the side down in order in the sixth to keep the score tied at 1-1 and did the same in the final inning after East Meadow regained the lead. She struck out 15.
“My best pitch was probably my backdoor curve, but my changeups were also working great,” Parise said. “I never let any runners on base affect me. When they’re on, I just go back to what I know and fire in strikes.”
Quizhpe led off the game with a single and came around to score on Kayla Wakely’s groundout. In the third inning centerfielder Melia Campbell cut off a ball in the gap and fired it into Quizhpe at shortstop. Quizhpe made a spinning throw to the plate, where Lily Finucane applied the tag for the out, preserving East Meadow’s lead.
“Our defense has been our biggest improvement all year,” East Meadow coach Frank Baglivo said. “We’ve pitched well and put the ball in play. Out defense started off shaky, but it has gotten better each week.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.
