FREEDOM PLAINS – Members of the Arlington softball team hope their recent run of success can carry them into the postseason.
Using a late comeback Monday afternoon, the Admirals picked up their sixth straight win with a tight 4-3 victory over rival Ketcham.
“It’s about all-around play. It’s a different kid every time picking us up, Chloe [Adel] did a great job coming in and shutting them down for four innings,” Arlington coach Dave Ballantyne said after the win. “Mya [White] had her hits today … we moved the runners along when we had some clutch hits.”
After falling down 3-0 in the first couple of innings, the Admirals stormed back for four runs in the fourth and fifth innings to secure an advantage before holding on late. Highlighted by two great defensive plays in the seventh, one being a full-extension dive from Ember Fallon, it’s the defensive effort that has the program excited with the regular season winding down.
“Our defense has rounded into shape this year, at the beginning of the year we had a couple girls who were learning but right now the defense is solid.” Ballantyne said.
Mya White highlighted the effort at the plate with a 3-for-3 day, driving in a run while scoring two herself. Sophia Terilli added two hits and a pair of RBIs while Uree St Louis and Adrianna Heitman scored the other two runs.
“We had a little bit of a losing streak so I think this definitely boosts our confidence and we’re going into the postseason really excited.” Adel said after the win.
At one point in the season, Arlington was sitting at 5-6 before going on this extended winning streak. Especially with Section 1 Class AAA being full of such tough competition, this late run of success only bolsters what this team believes it can accomplish.
“Obviously when you’re playing well, the confidence builds on top of each other,” Ballantyne said. “We know we’re in a really, really tough league. The better we can play now, the better seeding it is and then we can go from there. It’s all about the girls feeling good so they can play well.”
With three more games left to go in the regular season over the next few days, the Admirals still have the chance to get a leg up in terms of sectional seeding. With it all coming together at the right time, Arlington has put itself in a position where it’s up to the team how far the run can go.
For Ketcham, Kayleigh Petrillo led the effort with two hits, an RBI and a run. Kaelyn Brenner secured a hit, her 100th career base knock, and an RBI while Paytyn Dee drove in the Storm’s only other run.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Arlington riding hot streak with postseason ahead after comeback win
Reporting by Eric Decker, Poughkeepsie Journal / Poughkeepsie Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
