Seaford softball falls short in state Class B regional final
Seaford pitcher Skyler Secondino throws against Marlboro Central in the state Southeast Regional final on Saturday, June 3, 2023. Credit: Howard Simmons
Seaford had enjoyed a magical season to this point, but it couldn’t put together enough offense to keep this run going.
Marlboro Central (Section IX) defeated Seaford, 5-0, in the state Class B softball regional final at Farmingdale State on Saturday afternoon. Alyssa Rodriguez picked up a hit and a walk for Seaford.
Skyler Secondino worked through trouble all game for Seaford (14-11). In the first five innings she stranded 10 runners on base while allowing just two hits and no runs. Secondino hadn’t allowed an earned run in her previous six starts.
“I usually don’t walk people, today the zone didn’t seem to be working in my favor,” Secondino said. “The defense behind me was incredible though, they really helped me get out of those jams.”
Seaford got its best scoring chance in the fifth when Kaitlyn Young led off the inning with a single and Rodriguez hit into a fielder’s choice where the throw to second was too late. They proceeded to strikeout, pop up and ground out.
“I don’t think anything went wrong today, the wind just didn’t blow in our favor,” Seaford coach Joseph Nastasi said. “We left our best out there.”
A big play came in the top of the sixth with the bases loaded and one out for Marlboro Central. Elizabeth Leduc hit a grounder to third that Rodriguez appeared to make a diving stop on while laying on third. Rodriguez fired home where a tag was applied late and Seaford ended up with no outs and a 1-0 deficit after all runners were called safe.
“Some things were out of our control today, but I’m proud of how we ultimately handled the adversity,” Nastasi said. “We were a little late with the buses today and some of the calls that got made, all out of our control.”
After a brief delay due to discussion of the play, Secondino struck out the next batter for the second out. Leah Gunsett hit a two-out double off the wall to clear the bases for Marlboro Central and give it a 4-0 lead. Taylor Castellani followed up with a RBI single to make it 5-0.
“The sixth inning was a bit of a rough one for us,” Secondino said. “I guess that’s just the way things were meant to go.”
Seaford won its first county championship since 2011 this season and its first Long Island championship since 2005.
“This has been a great year, we haven’t been this far in almost 20 years,” Secondino said. “We have confidence in knowing that we’re Long Island champions and teams should be scared to face us next year.”
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.
