Fieldston is no match for rival Horace Mann during surprising blowout loss in softball season-opener

 

By Jason Eisenberg

 

April 11, 2011 -- Even in their worst nightmares, the Fieldston Lady Eagles probably could not have envisioned a more gloomy opening day to the 2011 softball season ... and it was not due to the cold, windy and rainy conditions.

 

In the days leading up to last week’s matchup between Fieldston and Horace Mann -- the first scheduled game of the year for both teams -- much of the talk surrounded which of these two neighborhood rivals was the most likely to challenge Poly Prep’s half-decade reign atop the Ivy League. At least for now, this question was answered with an exclamation point, as the Lady Eagles were pummeled by the Lady Lions, 15-2, in a five-inning, mercy rule shortened rout. 

 

While the weather was certainly less than ideal during last Wednesday’s contest, it was nowhere near as dreary as what the Fieldston squad had to endure on the diamond. In fact, this was one of those unfortunate occasions where literally not a single thing went right for the Lady Eagles. The team’s offense was nearly non-existent, they were guilty of multiple fielding errors as well as several costly base running blunders, and neither of their normally steady pitchers was able to find a way to stop the Horace Mann batters during the onslaught.   

 

“You have to hope that it was only a one game thing and it will be a learning experience for us, but I also have to give credit to Horace Mann. They are definitely that good and have a lot of skilled players, so I think they will be a tough team all season,” said Fieldston head coach Stefanie Gozdziewski. “I tried to tell my girls after, that it was just opening day jitters and that they should focus on the fact that things can only get a lot better from here.”

 

All the signs of an impending disaster for Fieldston were present right from the start of the game. Horace Mann immediately took a lead that it would never lose by scoring three runs in the top half of the first inning, at least partially a result of the Lady Eagles’ defense committing a pair of errors. In the bottom of the frame, Fieldston managed to get two runners on base -- freshman second baseman Carolyn Susman reached on a leadoff bunt single and junior shortstop Kate Miller drew a walk -- but one of them was picked off and the other was caught on an attempted steal.

 

The visiting Lady Lions would continue to pad their advantage by adding four more runs during a second inning that was highlighted by senior first baseman Devon McMahon’s two-run triple to deep left-centerfield. Already trailing 7-0, it looked like Fieldston would at least get on the board when sophomore third baseman Annie Fernandez led off the bottom of the second by smashing a standup triple to right-field. However, the Lady Eagles’ clean-up hitter would be stranded in that same spot, as Horace Mann’s sophomore pitcher Mia Farinelli recorded three straight outs to end the threat.

 

Another four-spot in the top of the third inning raised Horace Mann’s lead to 11-0, before Fieldston finally managed to erase the zero from its side of the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame. Freshman rightfielder Amelia Nierenburg crossed home plate to break the shutout on a grounder by Susman and then junior Maggie Zier scored on a single by Miller, but these were the only two runs the Lady Eagles would get on the day.

 

Junior pitcher Emily Kling was sent to the mound for Fieldston at the start of the fourth, replacing senior starter Lee Bernstein after three rough innings. Unfortunately, the results did not get any better. Horace Mann immediately loaded the bases to set the scene for freshman Sydney Ginsberg, who proceeded to smash a grand slam that landed near the fence in deep left-field and effectively sealed the mercy-rule victory.   

 

Yet, despite this horrible first outing, there is no reason to believe that the Lady Eagles cannot quickly bounce back and still live up to the lofty expectations that were predicted for them prior to the start of the season. Kling and Bernstein have both proven to be consistently successful pitchers in the past, Miller is arguably the best all-around player in the entire Ivy League and the team appears on paper to have a strong supporting cast that mixes returning players with talented newcomers.

 

“The main part of our problem today was we have a lot of young talent and they need to get more experience as varsity players,” said Coach Gozdziewski. “I am not concerned at all about the pitchers, though, they are both veterans and I think they did not have enough innings under their belts, so they were not quite ready yet. I still believe that winning the league is a realistic goal. I hope and pray for it every year, but obviously we have a lot of work still to do if that is to happen.”