Briana Franceschini hadn’t forgotten her three-run game-tying home run from the last time St. Francis Prep played Archbishop Molloy. Even if she had, her teammates reminded her, calling for another homer with one out in the top of the sixth and the Terriers looking to rally against their rival.
“We knew it,” reliever Nicole Lomangino said. “We were like, “Come on Bri, it’s your field. Just do it one more time.’”
Franceschini again delivered. The senior hit a ball over Sabina DiLorenzo’s head in left and raced around the bases for a solo home run to pull her team within a run. The blast sparked an eight-run inning that saw St. Francis Prep send 13 players to the plate and nine straight reach base against Stanners ace Maria Palmeri.
“The energy just gets so high and everyone realizes that we can really keep playing at this level,” Franceschini said. … “It sends a message.”
So does a come-from-behind, 10-4 win over host Archbishop Molloy on its Senior Day in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens softball Monday at Cunningham Park. The win snaps the Stanners’ 28-game league winning streak, including seven straight against SFP and keeps them from their second straight unbeaten regular season.
“We have been waiting for this day,” Lomangino said. “We have been waiting to come and beat them on their home field. … Today I had a feeling we were going to beat them.”
The Terriers (9-4) lost the first meeting, 6-0, and let a eighth-inning lead get away in a 5-4 loss on April 23. In this one, they trailed 4-2 heading into the sixth, but Palmeri, who felt she was getting squeezed, was all around the strike zone. After Franceschini’s one-out homer, SFP loaded the bases.
Kerri Surdi brought home the tying run with ground ball to short and Christina Pipia beat the throw home. Lomangino and Derby both had two-RBI doubles, Franceschini added a sac fly and Pipia drove in a run with a single to help the Terriers built a 10-4 lead. Victoria Goldbach replaced Palmeri with the score at 8-4.
“No one wants to come into the dugout and hear me when they come in,” St. Francis Prep coach Ann Marie Rich said of her team keeping the rally going. “They all want to contribute. They all want to be a part [of it].”
Lomangino allowed one run on one hit and struck out five in her three innings in relief of the starter Derby. Molloy (12-1) scored a run in the first thanks to a sac fly by Palmeri and two in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead on a RBI single from Dana Moss and a run-scoring double by Marissa Puzino. The Terriers made it 3-2 when a Lomangino ground ball got by Julia Lipovac at second before they exploded the next inning.
“It shows that our hard work pays off,” Francheschini said.
Rich echoed that sentiment. She said with a young team she and assistant Al Weinman had to go back to teaching some basics. Those are starting to be done more and her club is finally clicking at the plate at the right time.
“Things seem to be falling into place for us heading into the playoffs,” Rich said. “In the beginning of the season we were totally different then we are now. We just have to keep our momentum going.”
