On a day that was picture perfect for softball, the Syosset Xtreme and Syosset Flames launched their spring softball seasons April 18. The two U12 travel teams are part of SYAC Girls Softball and are sponsored by Braces by Dr. Charles Frankel of Woodbury.

The Syosset Xtreme split two exciting games with their rivals from Glen Cove. They dropped the first game 11-9 and then rallied to take the second game 15-14 at Glen Cove. The Syosset Flames split two games with Stony Brook, while playing at their home field in Syosset.

The Xtreme welcomed a number of new players this spring, including Mollie Goldfarb, who had three hits and drove in five runs on the day. Lily Mummert pitched a complete game in the first game, and a combination of Molly Goldfarb, Jen Halpern, Shelby Rosen and Lily Mummert pitched in the second game. Xtreme pitchers struck out a combined 14 Glen Cove batters on the day. Rose Bloomberg started the scoring early as she slid under the tag at home plate for the Xtreme's first run. Contributing offensive power for the Xtreme were Mallory Sanchez, who homered and drove in three runs; Lily Mummert, who had four hits and scored four runs; as well as Dana Fried, Lauren Margolies, and Jennifer Zink, who each drove in two runs. Notching a pair of hits each were new players Nikki and Cathy Tang, and Zoes Saunders. Melanie Woerner showed great speed on the bases and scored a run. Also getting two hits each were Shelby Rosen and Ashley Sandler.

Providing steady defense behind the plate were catchers Lauren Margolies and Melissa Kaufman, who gunned down a runner attempting to steal second. Dana Fried and Jen Halpern showed great glove work on the left side of the infield, and Kristen Carton was solid at first.

The Syosset Flames engaged in a see-saw battle in their first game, as Stony Brook took the lead late in the game, despite steady pitching from Victoria Savarese. Stony Brook took advantage of timely hitting and excellent defense by their infielders. The Red Flames overcame a large deficit in the sixth inning, battling all the way back with seven runs to tie the game. Clutch hits came off the bats of Stacie Perl, Jackie Finkler, Victoria Savarese and Julie Gold. Stacie Perl also made a sparking play at third base, lunging to snag a sinking line drive. Unfortunately for the Flames, Stony Brook broke the game open for good in the seventh inning with good hitting and some defensive breakdowns by the Flames.

The Flames jumped to a huge 12-run lead in the first inning due to patient at bats, timely hitting and aggressive base running from the entire lineup. The Flames continued their offensive assault throughout the game, and went on to take the second game 28-14. Natalie Taback threw strikes consistently, keeping the Stony Brook lineup at bay and never letting them get back into the game.