Trojans Lose Third Straight

The Blind Brook Trojans softball team lost, 17-3, to the Port Chester Rams Friday.

Despite the home loss, Blind Brook Trojans' coach, Allan Striar, was proud of his players' effort. "They never quit and they played  hard," he said.

With Captain Jennifer Jond, Rebecca Kaplan, and Olivia DeLaurentes loading the bases, Blind Brook was in position to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the first but failed to capitalize.

"We had a missed opportunity in the first," Striar said.

Port Chester's Emily Alves hit a homerun in the top of the second for a 1-0 lead.

However, a Jond triple tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the third.

Things got ugly after this point as the Rams crammed in four more runs in the top of the fourth for a 6-1 score due to errors in the outfield.

"That's where our inexperience shows," Striar said.

The Trojans' roster is fairly new this season because seniors Nicole Accurso and Tiffany Troilo are set to graduate.

To start the fifth, Striar then replaced his No. 1 pitcher and co-captain Katie Ehrmann with No. 2 Rebecca Christal.

Ehrmann had pitched in prior losses to Byram Hills and Bronxville earlier in the week.

"It was too much for Katie to pitch three days in a row," he said.

The Rams continued to prevail after tallying three more runs for a 9-1 score, forcing Striar to call a timeout and speak with Christal.

After a 10-1 defict, Trojans' Assistant Coach Christine Keegan talked to the whole team at the Pitcher's mound instructing  Jond to take charge at the position.

Jond is used at the spot when needed. She is also utilized at other positions. Striar calls her a "natural" player.

The Rams' 10-1 lead soon turned into 16-1, before the Trojans attempted  a comeback.

A Christal homerun ran in Jond and Kaplan for a 16-3 score in the bottom half of the inning.

The game would have ended after five innings per the mercy rule of 15 runs; but the Trojans continued to fight.

Port Chester would make it 17-3 after Blind Brook's Ashley Twilliger just missed the tag at homeplate in the top of the sixth.

The Trojans upped the intensity on defense the rest of the game, beginning with a stellar catch by Twilliger on the left of the plate to retire the side.

DeLaurentes and Rachel Simon led the fielding in the seventh with several key plays.

These plays created one last chance for a Trojans' comeback but the Rams eventually won, 17-3.

Christal had a triple along with two Runs Batted In (RBI's) scored on overthrown balls at the plate. Jond also hit a triple along with a single.

On the mound, Ehrmann gave up four hits, six runs, and walked three in four innings pitched.

Christal gave up seven runs and walked three in a tenth of an inning pitched.

Trojans Taryn Spiegel and Sarah Knuckle, who were unable to make the game due to sickness or other reasons, were missed at bat and in the field.

Blind Brook hopes to rebound from an 0-3 start at home against Tuxedo on Monday.