Softball: Riverhead’s win streak comes to an end
As the dark clouds crept closer and light rain began to fall, the brand new scoreboard adjacent the left field line at Riverhead’s softball field turned off. By that point, in the fourth inning, the Blue Waves didn’t need any reminders of the score.
Walt Whitman hit early and often Wednesday afternoon to bring the Blue Waves’ three-game winning streak to a screeching halt.
The Wildcats led 3-0 six pitches into the game and they never looked back, defeating Riverhead 14-1 in a 5-inning game. It was the first loss of the season for Riverhead that featured the mercy rule; the Blue Waves’ previous losses were by an average of two runs.
Coming off a 7-4 win over Newfield a day earlier, the Blue Waves couldn’t get anything to go right against the Wildcats. Miscues in the field piled up. At the plate, hard hit balls went for outs. And it all added up to a game to forget.
The Blue Waves had won four of their previous five coming into the game. The loss dropped Riverhead to 7-6 in League II while Whitman improved to 7-4. The Wildcats swept the season series against the Blue Waves.
The Wildcats struck quickly with a three-run home run by eighth-grader Nicole Algierie in the first inning on a deep fly ball to left field.
Whitman added four more in the second and five in the third. They led 14-0 before the Blue Waves got on the board in the fifth with an RBI single from Katie McKillop.
Whitman sophomore Taylor Epstein earned the win. She gave up six hits.
Algierie finished 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Junior Christina Lofaso was 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs as well.
Riverhead sophomore Casey Plitt took the loss. Karla Vanston went 2-for-2 with a double for Riverhead.
The Blue Waves will have five days off before getting back on the field to face Bay Shore Tuesday.
