Kristie Davidow wasn’t sure how her arm was going to feel in her first regular-season game of the year. The Preston junior ace had been dealing with some trouble with her tricep. She described it as a pulling and a pop.
“I’m still going to push through it,” Davidow said. “I’ve been icing it and putting Tiger Balm on it to keep it going.”
She looked just fine in a 7-2 win over rival and host Cardinal Spellman in CHSAA Bronx/Westchester softball Thursday in The Bronx. Davidow, who had been cleared to play, allowed two runs on six hits, while striking out seven and walking just two. She got stronger as the game went on as the pop in the catcher’s glove got louder at times in the late innings. Preston jumped ahead 6-1 after the first two frames.
“I was a little scared coming in here, but I just kept my head in the game to just keep going,” she said. “I didn’t even feel it. My adrenaline was pumping so high.”
Sophomore Megan Kelly, who went back to center field, had thrown real well in the Panters (3-0) two wins against St. Catharine to open the season. Coach Rachel Mazza had no problem going to Kelly if Davidow didn’t have it or showed any signs of injury. She allowed a run in the first on a Joanne Guerra triple to deep center and a Victoria Quinones single to left. Spellman (1-1) left runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth and saw Jillian Santiago drive in a run with a single in the sixth to make it 7-2
“It was good to see her back,” Mazza said. “I told her I had her on a short leash.”
The Panthers got all the runs they needed thanks to the bat of junior catcher Kitty Lagqui, who was 2-for-4 with four RBIs and run scored. She drove in a run in the first inning with a single before Krista Rinaldi laced a two-run single up the middle to make it 3-0 against Pilots starter Tiffany Rondon. Laura Montalto walked three times, twice intentionally, scored twice and collected a one-hop double off the center field fence in the seventh. Kelly also scored twice.
Preston broke the game open in the second inning, thanks to a Spellman error and a big hit from Lagqui. Melissa Santiago, who added an RBI single in the third inning, lined out to third with Sabrina D’Ancona running off first. Angie Arroyo’s throw back to first was low and not handled cleanly by Olivia O’Farrill to keep D’Ancona safe. A two-out walk to Signore and an intentional pass to Montalto loaded the bases for Lagqui, who responded with a bases-clearing triple that rolled to the fence in right center to extend Preston’s lead to 6-1.
“You always have to take advantage when other teams make errors,” Lagqui said.
She was also part of a traditionally solid Preston defense, throwing out runners at second and third to further put Davidow at ease. It kept Spellman from mounting a comeback after Rondon settled down and allowed just one hit over the final four innings. Mazza felt her team might have been trying too hard.
“I think they were pressing a little too hard,” she said. “I was up here saying relax, relax.”
That’s exactly the way she could feel with Davidow as the game went on.
