Brewster Loses to Pearl River in Quarterfinal Game

This story was written and reported by Ryan Buncher.

Deirdre O'Malley lined a two-run single to left field in the sixth inning for the game's only two runs and pitcher Mandy McCarthy made it stand up with a shutout in Pearl River's 2-0 Section 1 Class A quarterfinal victory at home against Brewster Thursday.

Brewster pitcher Alycia Feeney matched McCarthy zero for zero until O'Malley stepped to the plate with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth and responded with the hit that drove in Jules Madigan and Sam Alicandri.

"I knew going up there with the bases loaded and one out, I had to do something," O'Malley said. "I just threw my hands out there with the bat. I was struggling a bit, so it felt good to get a little ping off the bat."

That ping helped Pearl River advance to the semifinals Friday at top seed Eastchester. When the teams played May 5, Eastchester rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh inning for a 6-5 win at Pearl River. When they played in 2012, McCarthy threw a shutout. 

"Last time we saw them, they came back," O'Malley said. "I'm happier to see them."

O'Malley was part of two big plays that made that happen. With Shannon Sommer the base runner on second with two out, Brittany Deieso hit a ball that went off McCarthy's glove. Pearl River second baseman Erin Woods fielded the ball and threw home and O'Malley tagged Sommer out to end the threat.

"Shannon is an excellent base runner. I thought it was going to skip toward the center fielder, but it popped up to the second baseman," Brewster Head Coach Lisa Delzio said. "It was a bang-bang play. Great throw. Great tag."

"Erin threw a bullet," O'Malley said. "Awesome. If that throw is even a little off, she probably would have been safe. That was a big play by Erin. Huge. Confidence boosted right then and there."

Pearl River Head Coach said might have sent a runner in the same situation, but she was surprised Brewster challenged Woods. 

"Knowing how good my second baseman is, that was a little risky," Gaylardo said. "It was a game-changer. That changed the whole momentum."

Brewster hit some balls hard off McCarthy and threatened more than once, including the top of the seventh inning when Emma Prinz led off with a single and Feeney drew a one-out walk. McCarthy worked through trouble as she did all day, inducing pop-ups by Nicolette Solano and Sommer to end the game. McCarthy struck out three and walked one in the seven-hit shutout. She has not given up a run through two playoff games.

"She's everything we expected," Delzio said. "We are used to that type of pitching. With our schedule, we see that. She did a terrific job. She hung in there and made some great pitches."

Feeney struck out four and walked none while giving up two runs on five hits in six innings pitched.

"Alycia was fantastic," Delzio said. "That is a very good hitting team and she did a fantastic job. I feel badly for her. She pitched a great game."

Feeney never had more than one runner on base until the sixth, when Madigan led off the inning with a single through the infield and Alicandri bunted for a hit. Woods bunted them to second and third and then Feeney hit McCarthy with a pitch to load the bases for O'Malley.