The Shenendehowa softball team started its season Monday, and by all appearances, the Plainsmen are looking as strong as ever.
Emilia Peluso drove in three runs with a double and a single, and Mandy Ferro allowed one earned run in five innings pitched to lead five-time defending Section II, Class A champion Shen to an 11-3 Suburban Council victory over Niskayuna.
Niskayuna is a pretty dangerous team, said Shen coach Dan D’Amboise. `They had several runners on base, and we worked out of a couple of jams.`
The Plainsmen had hoped to be on the field sooner with a pair of non-league games, but last Friday’s rain cancelled those plans.
`We had them on the schedule, we were ready to go. The weather just didn’t cooperate,` said D’Amboise.
The weather cooperated for Shen’s first league game, and the Plainsmen took full advantage. They scored three runs in each of the first two innings to gain a big lead against Niskayuna, and they never looked back.
Ferro ` last year’s starting centerfielder ` helped her own cause with a pair of singles and a double that drove in three runs, and first baseman Jen Mongiovi added a pair of doubles as part of a 13-hit attack for Shen.
`They’d been a big part of our team last year,` D’Amboise said of Peluso, Ferro and Mongiovi ` who, along with shortstop Barb Shea and second baseman Lauren Lawlor, make up the veteran core of Shen’s lineup.
The only question mark for the Plainsmen as they enter the meat of their Suburban Council schedule is how well their pitching will hold up. Ferro and Morgan Sprague are getting their first shot as varsity starters following the graduation of last year’s rotation of Angie Sagnelli and K.C. Levin.
`We’ve got solid pitching,` said D’Amboise. `How it develops during the season will determine how well we do at the end.`
The rest of the Suburban Council is littered with talented teams looking to knock Shen off after the Plainsmen ran through the 2007 league season undefeated. Class AA runner-up Colonie has its entire starting lineup intact, while Shaker, Saratoga, Columbia, Bethlehem, Niskayuna, Guilderland, Mohonasen and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake all have talented players that can lead them to victory on any given day.
`The Council is pretty up this year ` stronger than it’s been in the last two or three years,` said D’Amboise.
Shen faced another tough challenge Wednesday when it hosted Shaker in a Blue Division battle. The Plainsmen return to action Saturday when they play New Rochelle in a non-league game.
Two Tuesday no-nos
Two Saratoga County pitchers tossed no-hitters for their teams in Tuesday’s softball action.
Erica Palleschi shut down Schenectady’s batters to lead Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake to a 7-0 non-league victory, while Saratoga’s Alyson Onyon struck out 14 Troy batters to help the Blue Streaks defeat the Flying Horses 2-0.
Palleschi ` called into the starting pitcher’s role after a season-ending injury to Emily Ostrom ` helped her own cause with a home run and a double as BH-BL improved its record to 3-3.
Krista Robarge scored one of Saratoga’s two runs against Troy as the Blue Streaks ran their overall record to 4-0.
Meanwhile, Saratoga Central Catholic continued its stay in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with a 7-6 victory over Section III’s Auburn Tuesday. Mollie Denier belted a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the game for the Saints (2-3). Jen Diggins added a bases-loaded triple in the bottom of the second inning.
Saratoga Central Catholic opened its visit to the South Carolina coastal resort with a 6-5 loss to Section VI’s Niagara Falls Monday. Denier drove in three runs, and Betsey Towne added a double and a single for the Saints.“