The following game stories were filed for the week of May 17. For more information about SYAC softball, visit www.syacgs.org.

Eam Over Top Banana

EAM won their fourth game, beating Top Banana in a close and well-played game on May 21. EAM led 4 to 0 after one inning as consecutive hits by Stephanie Grayson, Abby Raichek, Rebecca Raichek and Elizabeth Jacobsohn led the attack and the first four batters scored. EAM added two runs in the second, sparked by Jessica Kaden's lead off hit. Top Banana's hitters came back with three runs in the second and third innings. Bailey Donovan, Rachel Klobus and Samantha Merenstein had big hits in both innings and the score was tied after three. EAM took a short lived lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by Elizabeth Jacobsohn's home run. But Top Banana would not quit. With two out in the top of the fifth, Bailey Donovan's two base hit was followed by consecutive hits by Rachel Klobus, Samantha Merenstein, Melanie Rabin and Kristen Happel, and once again the score was tied. Diana Saber led of the bottom of the fifth with a hit and was followed by hits from Stephanie, Abby, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Nikita Maddineni, Alyssa Levine and Jamie Levine. The four-run lead held, and there was fine defensive play in the top of the sixth inning. Nikita Maddineni's pitcher-to-first base play closed out the inning and sealed the win for EAM.

Access Tigers Over Eagle Box 9-5

Eagle Box lost to Access Tigers at Thompson field by a score of 9 to 5. It was a great game played by both teams, with much of the work done on the mound. Eagle Box struck out nine Tigers, and the Tigers struck out eight Eagles. The Tigers bats were a bit hotter, as Victoria Savarese had four RBIs on a triple and a home run. Miller showed her power at the bat going two-for-three with a single and double. Julia Biegel, playing third base and OF, has shown her defensive skills in the field and at the plate with season batting average of .666.

Punctuation Tops Access Tigers

On Thursday, May 20th, the Access Tigers (3-2) hosted Punctuation (6-0) at Berry Hill Field. Punctuation came out strong in the first inning, scoring six runs, and they never looked back for the remainder of the game, which ended in the visiting team winning by a score of 13-1. There was very nice pitching by Olivia Faden, who remained on the mound for the entire game, which ended early due to darkness. Access Tigers had several hits in the game, but the defense of Punctuation was stronger. The Tiger's run was scored by Jessica Greenspan.

Paston Insurance Whomps Softball Sisters 23-8

Paston Insurance took out an extra policy on the Softball Sisters, as they galloped to a 23-8 win on May 17 at Hap Harris Stadium. The Softball Sisters jumped to a three-run lead in the first inning, with a leadoff double by Stephanie Tillman and successive hits from Dory Leviashvili, Lily Mummert and Zoe Saunders. Also contributing offensively were Nicolle Navaretta and Nicolle Cohen, who drove in two runs apiece on the night, as well as Ashley Moyett, Aly Zuckerman and Katie Lolis. Stroking doubles were Aly Zuckerman and Katie Lolis, while Lily Mummert hit a triple on a long drive into left-center.

Paston Insurance got their offense motoring in the bottom of the first, with big hits from Emily Wolvovsky, who drove in three runs on the night, Chelsea Green (2RBIs) and Lexi Gertler (3RBIs). After scoring 11 runs in the first, Paston Insurance added nine more in the second. The Sisters pecked away with a four-run rally in the top of the fourth and final inning, but the Paston girls had the game well in hand. Also contributing to the Paston offense: Dolores Corrano, Jenny Matte, Jessica Orens, Sammy Paston, Marie Christie and Liza Roth. The Paston girls played tight defense, facing just three batters in the second and five in the third innings.

Zoe Saunders, Dory Leviashvili and Katie Lolis pitched the Sisters, giving up a combined 16 hits. Emily Wolvovsky went the distance for Paston, surrendering 14 hits. Nicolle Navaretta was a defensive standout for the Sisters, catching two pop fouls for key outs. Chelsea Green snared a number of hard smashes to shortstop that squelched potential rallies for the Sisters.

The Softball Sisters topped the Diamond Divas in a Friday evening classic on May 21 at Hap Harris Field. The game was forfeited when the Divas fell short on players, but the teams played on until sundown. The final score was 13-4.

Leading the attack for the Sisters was Dory Leviashvili, who tapped out four hits, as well as Stephanie Tillman and Lily Mummert, who had three hits apiece. Scoring three runs was Melissa Wong, who also stepped up as catcher for the first time and did a fine job. Also contributing offensively were Ashley Moyett, who drove in three runs, as well as Zoe Saunders, Nicole Cohen, Aly Zuckerman and Katie Lolis. Sisters pitchers Lily Mummert and Katie Lolis kept the strong-hitting Divas in check with just four hits.

Pitching for the Divas was Natalie Taback, who struck out six Sisters over four innings and executed several quick fielding plays. Stefanie Merson drove in three runs for the Divas on a hard-hit double. Natalie Taback drove in a run, while Melissa Kaufman and Catherine Woodard also hit for the Divas. Also contributing to the effort were Remy November, Kaitlin Krol and Noelle Perugini.

Xtreme Edges Flames 13-12

Both teams saved their best for last, as the Syosset Xtreme squeaked past the Syosset Flames 13-12 on a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon tailor-made for softball (and lemonade). The game was played May 23 at Hap Harris Stadium.

The Flames jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first with aggressive baserunning by Erica Buki and Dana Singer. Flames pitcher Julie Gold had the Xtreme hitters off balance all afternoon. She pitched to Allison Kamin, who was solid behind the plate. Julie also snagged a series of pop-ups to the mound, which were just a few of the bang-bang plays the Flames performed in a game marked by tight defense early on. Erica Buki was stellar at second base, making a series of 4-3 putouts to Dana Singer at first. The Flames added two more runs in the second and one more in the third on hits by Marissa Terrasi and Cathy Tang, who was borrowed from the Xtreme for the day. Allison Kamin scored on heads-up baserunning and some Xtreme errors.

The Xtreme came back with a pair of runs in the third on hits by Ashley Sandler and Molly Goldfarb, who drove in three runs each on the day. Melanie Woerner and Kristen Carton sparked a two-run rally in the fourth. Entering the final sixth inning with a 5-4 edge, the Flames stretched their lead. They pounded out eight hits and made them count for seven runs as the Xtreme fielding sprung leaks. Marissa Terrasi kicked off the Flames rally with a hard smash, and she was followed with consecutive hits by Nikki and Cathy Tang (both borrowed from Xtreme) and Jackie Finkler. Also hitting and scoring were Allison Kamin, who laid down a picture-perfect bunt, and Erica Buki, Dana Singer and Marissa Terrasi, who had her second hit of the big inning.

Just three outs from elimination in the bottom of the sixth, the Xtreme turned it on. Dana Fried led off with a walk, and she was followed by consecutive hits by Lily Mummert, Ashley Sandler, Jen Halpern and Molly Goldfarb. After one put-out, the hitting continued off the bats of Shelby Rosen, Melanie Woerner and Kristen Carton. Batting around, the Xtreme saw Dana Fried get an run-scoring hit, followed by Lily Mummert, who got her second hit of the inning and drove in a run to tie the game at 12. Coming to bat was the hot-hitting Ashley Sandler, who stroked her fourth hit of the day, a smash that sliced through the infield to drive in the winning run.

Pitching for the Xtreme were Molly Goldfarb, Lily Mummert and Ashley Sandler. Jen Zink did a fine job of catching for the first time for the Xtreme. Julie Gold went five-plus innings for the Flames, and she was relieved by Cathy Tang.