Samantha Dolan helps Massapequa softball repeat as Nassau Class AAA champions
Massapequa celebrates after defeating Oceanside in the Nassau Class AAA softball final on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at Farmingdale State College. Credit: Errol Anderson
Samantha Dolan was relatively quiet in the first two games of the Nassau Class AAA softball championship series.
In the deciding Game 3, Dolan’s bat gave Massapequa the lead. And her arm helped keep it.
After Karley Handleman’s sacrifice fly cut Massapequa’s lead to two runs and moved runners to second and third with one out in the bottom of the sixth, shortstop Marissa Scognamiglio scooped up a ground ball and threw to Dolan at first for the second out.
As McKaela Genna crossed the plate to make it a one-run game, Dolan fired to third, where Juliana Muscara applied the tag on an advancing runner for a 6-3-5 double play to end the inning.
“The momentum was huge,” pitcher Alexa O’Mallon said. “It stopped the bleeding. I think that was our game-winner.”
An inning later, Sienna Erker squeezed a fly ball in centerfield for the final out of No. 2 Massapequa’s 7-6 win over No. 1 Oceanside Wednesday at Farmingdale State. It’s Massapequa’s second straight Nassau AAA title and fifth in the last six years.
“I threw my mask so high in the air that I almost got hit by it on the way down,” O’Mallon said. “I was jumping before she even caught it.”
Leading 6-4 in the top of the sixth, Dolan stepped to the plate with two outs and two runners on. The senior lined a single to left to plate Erker for what proved to be the difference in the game.
“We knew Oceanside was never going to let up,” Dolan said. “The coaches always say, ‘Get an extra cushion under your belt.’ I knew how important it was to get that hit.”
Dolan plated Erker and Mia Victor on a single to left in the top of the first. Maeve Schiereck’s single to left drove in Nola Trovato in the top of the second and Katy Love’s sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position for Dolan, who lined a two-out, two-run single to center to give Massapequa a 5-0 lead.
Dolan went 3-for-4 with five RBIs. In the first two games of the series, Dolan went a combined 1-for-8.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” coach Christina Castellani said. “She’s got grit. She’s got fight. She’s got determination. She wants to be the one at the plate in those situations.”
“Yesterday, we didn’t really work on hitting, so it gave me a day off to think,” Dolan said. “I just thought I needed to put my head down and drive the ball.”
Handleman went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI and Genna had a hit and two runs scored for Oceanside (22-5).
Erker went 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored and Schiereck went 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI. Massapequa (19-9) will face Sachem North in the Long Island championship game at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Martha Avenue Park in Bellport.
“Saturday, we’re going to come out the same way we’ve been coming out,” Dolan said. “We’re not going to let up because we don’t stop.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
