When the calendar flipped to May, Rye softball once again flipped a switch.
After entering the month with a 2-9 record, the Garnets have won back-to-back games and three of their past five. It’s a similar script to a year ago, when Rye started 0-7, then went 7-4-1 in May to make the playoffs and advance to the section tournament quarterfinals.
Coach Alex Tejera hopes the recent hot streak carries over into the postseason again this year. In each of the three wins this month, the Garnets (5-11) doubled their opponents’ score. The lone losses were to Mamaroneck by one run, and at White Plains, one of the top teams in Class AAA.
“We played well this week, played hard against a very good White Plains team, but we were able to bounce back on Tuesday beating Rye Neck 12-6,” Tejera said. “It was the first time we beat them in many years.”
The latest win was an 8-4 defeat of Nanuet on Thursday. Junior Caroline Joyce went 2-for-2 with a double and three RBIs, and junior Clara Meszkat also had a double with two runs driven in.
Eighth-grader Gigi Gilmore was one out away from a complete game, earning the win with four runs allowed. She also went 1-for-2 with an RBI at the plate.
Other Garnets to pick up a hit were senior Ava Rollano, junior Penelope Gilmore, and sophomores Sophiah Collins and Emma Stark — the latter who hit a triple.
Rye finishes the regular season with three games this week. First up is one of the toughest tests all season, at 5 p.m. Monday against Eastchester (14-2), the Section 1 Class AA leaders. The final two give the Garnets a shot to climb the standings, against Nyack (5-9) on Thursday and Clarkstown North (6-11) on Sunday. The two teams currently sit 13th and 14th in the standings, immediately ahead of No. 15 Rye.
“We have had a lot of games bunched together, but to our credit, they have all come ready to play every day,” Tejera said. “We have been able to limit our mistakes, and as a result, have been able to stay in games.”
