Christina Vlahakis' two-run double breaks Oceanside softball out of early slump to beat Farmingdale
Christina Vlahakis #28, Oceanside rightfiielder, reacts after connecting for a two-run double in the top of the fourth inning to give the Sailors a 2-1 lead over host Farmingdale in a Nassau County Conference I softball game on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Credit: James Escher
The Oceanside softball team proves the game is all about momentum. Once they get started, they don’t stop.
The Sailors defeated host Farmingdale, 11-2, Wednesday. Oceanside moved to 10-6 overall and 8-5 in Nassau Conference I.
Ava Fierst’s home run led off the bottom of the first and staked Farmingdale to an early lead, one the Dalers would hold onto for the next two innings.
“The home run definitely set us back a little,” Ocenside rightfielder Christina Vlahakis said. “We were popping up, we were getting under the ball, and that’s why we weren’t scoring.”
When Vlahakis stepped up to the plate at the top of the fourth, the entire game changed. Her line-drive double to leftfield drove in Logan Deman and Samantha Chaisson, giving the Sailors a 2-1 lead.
“After we took the lead, the team got really excited,” Vlahakis said. “We have a celebration for when we hit doubles, and I think that helped bring the energy up.”
“It got me, and everyone else really hype,” senior Sophie Nesturrick said. “Then everyone was able to go up there more relaxed and a little more confident and really focus on hitting the ball, and hitting it hard.”
The Sailors put up five more runs in the fifth inning, extending their lead to 7-1.
“It’s contagious,” Coach Carlo Quagliata said. “Once this team starts coming together, they don’t want to get any outs, and they just want to keep scoring.”
Farmingdale scored once more, in the sixth.
What made the win even sweeter was the fact that Ocenside fell, 7-4, to Farmingdale earlier in the season.
“We knew what was coming because we’ve seen them before,” Vlahakis said. “It feels amazing to get the win this time. Everyone’s made the improvements they needed to make, and it feels like we’ve come so far since then.”
Vlahakis finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Nesturrick went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.
“She’s really our All-Star,” Quagliata said of Nesturrick. “She’s playing at Fordham next year, and she’s been a great leader for us.”
With less than a handful of games left before playoffs, Quagliata said it’s consistency that will be what helps them earn a spot in the postseason.
“This is the best conference in the county,” he said. “It’s going to be tight, every game’s going to be tough, but if they just stay focused, they can play against anybody.”
