St. Anthony's softball's Cienna Picchioni, Nina Vandernoth shut down Xaverian
Nina Vandernoth of St. Anthony's pitches in the top of the fifth inning during a CHSAA softball game against Xaverian of Brooklyn on Thursday at St. Anthony's. Credit: Dawn McCormick
For the past few years, the St. Anthony’s softball team has had a dominant, workhorse pitcher.
The Friars have multiple options this year.
Sophomore Nina Vandernoth and freshman Olivia Feldman have handled the bulk of the workload early, with Cienna Picchioni also getting some innings.
Picchioni got the start Thursday morning and struck out six and allowed one run and four hits in four innings to earn the win as St. Anthony’s defeated visiting Xaverian, 6-1, in a non-league game. Vandernoth struck out five and allowed three hits in three scoreless innings of relief to earn the save.
“It’s nice that whenever you need relief, you know that you have someone to go to,” Feldman said. “It’s nice to feel like you have coverage and have the confidence to hand the ball over to someone else.”
It was Picchioni’s third start of the season, but Xaverian (2-2) represented the toughest competition the freshman has faced. The Clippers’ speedy centerfielder, Sienna Bocchino, is committed to Ole Miss. She went 3-for-4.
“It’s such a confidence booster to know that the coaches and my teammates have that trust in me,” Picchioni said. “It makes me feel supported by everyone.”
“Cienna and Olivia are doing really well,” said Vandernoth, who pitched 27 innings for St. Anthony’s last year. “I’m proud of them. I feel very confident when they’re in the circle and I’m playing behind them. They’ve adapted very quickly.”
Vandernoth drove in Sophia Erker on a single to left to open the scoring in the bottom of the second. Later in the inning, Feldman lined a two-out single to center to plate Gabriella King and Vandernoth and extend the lead to 3-0.
Makayla Martinez drove in Sophia Lee on a ground-rule double to center to take a 4-1 lead in the fifth. Heady baserunning by Violet Pryor and Brianna Buckley gave the Friars two more runs in the sixth.
Five underclassmen have regularly started for St. Anthony’s (6-1). Just because they are young doesn’t mean they won’t carry on the Friars’ winning tradition.
“We all have our own jobs that we have to do, but we really bond well and work together,” Feldman said. “We all work as one. We play as one. We all are one.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
