It looked like May 26 was the night for ARF's winning streak to be broken. Clarisse Baluyot was pitching for Syosset Rocks with precision and speed. Through the first three innings she struck out five batters and held ARF scoreless. Baluyot continued to overwhelm ARF when she got a clutch hit in the third inning, scoring two runs to put her team ahead 3-0.
ARF certainly had their work cut out for them. They couldn't seem to find their rhythm and when they did they were shut down by the strong fielding of Casey Gold and Amy Rosenfeld. Cassie Strum also tried to be the catalyst and got her team going with a hard-hit single into center field. But before ARF could capitalize, Rocks third baseman Jillian Stark made an over-the-head, line-drive catch to end the inning.
ARF couldn't wait to get another chance at bat, and so they quickly turned aside Syosset Rocks in the top of the fourth, 1-2-3. ARF could feel the momentum changing. They knew that with a few hits and some smart heads-up base running, they could be right back in the game. With a runner on second Brittany Bitter stepped up to the plate and you could sense her intensity. With a long single over the second baseman's head, Bitter knocked in the team's first run and put ARF on the scoreboard. Next, Alexa Klorman came up to bat. Klorman, who's had a strong season, both offensively and defensively, continued the attack with a single to the opposite field, which scored another run for her team. By the end of the inning, ARF was ahead 4-3.
Syosset Rocks tied the game in the top of the fifth and Baluyot struck out two in the bottom of the fifth to keep the tension high. ARF was fired up and once again sent the Rocks out to the field after only three batters. So it was coming down to ARF's last three outs to break the tie.
All eyes turned to the inning's lead-off batter, Amanda Reid, the team's clean-up hitter. If she could just get in scoring position, then maybe Melissa Rad, who had hit a grand slam earlier in the season, could bring her home. The crowd waited for the first pitch. The first pitch arrived, and boom like a rocket, it was going, going, gone. It was a solo home run to win the game. It was Reid's seventh home run of the year and it couldn't have come at a more opportune moment. Both teams played hard and look forward to meeting up again in the playoffs.
It was the last game of the season for ARF and they wanted to maintain their undefeated record against Major's Steak House on June 2. Unfortunately, they could do nothing the first two innings at bat. It was up to Lauren Seckendorf, their star pitcher, and the defense to keep ARF in the game. Seckendorf certainly did her part, throwing 11 strike-outs while giving up no walks. This brings her season total to 90 strikeouts in only nine games. Also helping out on defense were Nicole Moreno and Sophie Mummert, who didn't allow several balls that reached the outfield to turn into anything more than long singles.
Sarina Paty for Major's Steak House also pitched a great game. She managed to keep ARF off balance with her speed and accuracy for a good part of the game. She threw more strikeouts and kept up with Seckendorf. In the field, the team's first baseman Lauren Liebling helped out by making some tough plays. It looked like Paty and Liebling would control the game at bat and in the field. But Sara Cohen, of ARF, had a different idea and in the top of the fourth she tagged Paty for a three-run triple that gave her team a commanding lead.
There was no more scoring until Jessica Rosenberg, who enjoyed putting the icing on the cake, knocked in the final run of ARF's undefeated season with a fly ball up the middle into centerfield.