Gabby Amicizia pitches Smithtown East softball to first round win over Northport
Smithtown East’s Gabby Amicizia allowed one run and had seven strikeouts in Suffolk AA first-round win over Northport on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Gabby Amicizia wanted nothing more than to set the tone in Smithtown East’s opening playoff game.
The senior struck out seven as host No. 6 Smithtown East defeated No. 11 Northport, 8-1, in the first round of the Suffolk Class AA softball tournament on Wednesday night.
“As a pitcher, all you want is to be given the ball when there’s a big game,” Amicizia said. “It feels really good to pitch like this and get my team a win in a playoff game.”
Amicizia set the side down in order in the first and second innings, getting three outs via strikeout. Marissa Formosa drove in Gabriella Zarcone with a single in the bottom of the first, giving the Bulls a 1-0 lead.
“This is one of the best games she’s (Amicizia) ever thrown,” Formosa said. “She really powered through, she was on fire.”
Formosa got a rally started for Smithtown East in the fifth inning, tripling with one out. She came home on McKenzie Morgan’s single in the next at-bat to give Smithtown East a 5-1 lead.
Two batters later Leila Piccoli hit a triple to drive in Morgan. Giovanna Lombardi followed with her own RBI single as Smithtown East pulled ahead 7-1.
“I went into all of my at-bats with a clear head, just thinking that no matter what I’m thrown I want to make contact,” Formosa said. “Every time I got up, I just made sure that I was getting the job done to help the team.”
In Formosa’s final at-bat in the sixth, she hit a two-out double for her fourth hit of the game. Morgan hit a single in the next at-bat that a diving play was made on just before the outfield grass, but Formosa hustled from second and managed to score on the play.
“I’m always thinking one base ahead,” Formosa said. “I always want to get that next base, so even if it’s a little hit, I still have my eye on if I can stretch it out.”
Amicizia allowed a run in the fourth but kept Northport (10-9) off the board the rest of the way. She struck out the final batter of the game with a runner on.
“This is going to carry a ton of momentum for us into our next game,” Amicizia said. “We have all the confidence we need and all the skill we need, to win a county championship.”
Smithtown East (14-5) will travel to face No. 3 West Islip on Friday. Northport will take on Ward Melville on Thursday in the loser’s bracket.
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.
