Christina Palmeri #42 of Bethpage connects for a two-run home...

Christina Palmeri #42 of Bethpage connects for a two-run home run during the top of the fourth to give the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead over host Division in a Nassau softball Class A first round playoff game on Thursday, May 18, 2023.  Credit: James Escher

There was a moment that felt a little bigger than the rest in this Nassau Class A opening-round win-or-season-over playoff clash.

Eighth-seeded Division posed a third-inning threat against No. 9 Bethpage in a scoreless softball game. Stephanie Pilnacek fired a 1-and-2 wild pitch, moving two into scoring position with two outs. But two pitches later, the hard-throwing senior righty escaped via a strikeout.

“I think two outs, second and third, and it’s a scoreless game, I think that was the momentum we needed,” Pilnacek said. “That strikeout, that was like the hitter’s fuel. As soon as that happened, the next inning we started scoring.”

Pilnacek fanned 11 and walked none in a complete game, and Bethpage came away with a 7-2 road win Thursday, clinching a quarterfinal matchup against the giants — the top-seeded, undefeated MacArthur Generals.

The Golden Eagles are 10-11. But five of their losses came by a total of 11 runs.

They believe they can beat the other team in Levittown, the 20-0 Generals.

“I know that they have heart, but I know that we do, too,” Pilnacek said. “… I truly think if we come together as one, we can take down anyone.”

The game is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. at MacArthur. But the forecast is iffy. If needed, the makeup would be Sunday at noon.

“If Steph’s pitching, we always have an opportunity to win,” Bethpage coach Joe Inghilterra said. “And when our bats get going, I feel like we can hang with anybody in Nassau County.”

Christina Palmeri gave them a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer over the fence in right-center in the fourth off Mallory Gulotta, who struck out 12 over seven innings.

“I thought I was really due for one,” Palmeri said. "I wasn’t really hitting this past couple of games, and it just felt so good.”

Palmeri also delivered an RBI single in a two-run seventh that made it 7-1.

Julia Coscino had made it 4-0 with a two-run single in the fifth, one of her four hits. 

Pilnacek also praised the sophomore catcher’s pitch-calling ability.

“A lot of people give me credit sometimes, and it’s all her,” Coscino said.

Division finished at 11-9.

“It’s tough,” coach Dave Radtke said. “Any year when you lose, it’s tough. It’s a good senior class, an enjoyable senior class. … We just ran into a buzz saw today. [Pilnacek] was good.”

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