Freshman Olivia Feldman leads St. Anthony's to ninth straight NSCHSAA softball title
St. Anthony's celebrates after winning the CHSAA softball championship against Kellenberg at Hofstra University on Wednesday. Credit: Brittney Dietz
Olivia Feldman has pitched in the finals of the Little League Softball World Series. There is no stage too big for her.
But the St. Anthony’s freshman was admittedly antsy about Game 2 of the NSCHSAA softball championship series.
“I was thinking about it all day in school, I just wanted to come out firing out the gate and shut it down,” Feldman said. “We came out crushing the ball, starting with Makayla Martinez, and just kept the energy moving throughout the whole game.”
Martinez’s two-run home run in the top of the first inning set the tone, and Feldman took it from there.
Feldman went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBIs and struck out three and allowed two runs and eight hits in a complete game to lead No. 1 St. Anthony’s to a 10-2 win over No. 2 Kellenberg Wednesday at Hofstra. Feldman was named the tournament MVP.
“She has so much composure,” Martinez said of Feldman. “She never lets the stress get to her. It’s very rare that you get someone like that. We’re so lucky to have a freshman like her come in.”
The Friars claimed their ninth consecutive league title. St. Anthony’s (23-5) will return to Hofstra to face St. Mary’s (Lancaster) in the CHSAA state semifinal at noon on Saturday. With a win, the five-time defending state champions would advance to the state final at 3 p.m.
Feldman drove in Mia Vaccariello and Martinez on a two-out double in the second to give the Friars a 5-0 lead. Feldman plated Sophia Lee on a single in the fourth for a 6-0 lead.
Lee went 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored, Gabriella King went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Violet Pryor went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored and Nina Vandernoth had an RBI and a run scored. Vandernoth was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year.
Kellenberg senior Molly Silecchia was named the league’s regular season MVP. Makenzie McDonald and Lexi Zaremba each had two hits and an RBI for Kellenberg (17-10). The Firebirds defeated St. Anthony’s on May 8, ending the Friars’ 67-game winning streak against league opponents. It was the Friars third loss in a six-game stretch near the end of the regular season.
“It was a good kick for us,” said Lee, a senior. “Some girls come on this team expecting to constantly win because we have that big legacy. It was good that that mentality was proven wrong and we showed that we can bounce back in the following games. When we play Friar softball, that’s when the winning happens.”
At the end of the awards ceremony, Lorraine Bouklas was honored for her dedication to NSCHSAA softball. The St. John the Baptist Athletic Director and longtime president of the Nassau-Suffolk Catholic High School Girls Athletic Association is set to retire after this school year. She has taught at SJB for 45 years.
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
