Westhampton Beach Softball Eliminated by East Islip

Despite a 5-1 Class A elimination bracket loss to East Islip, the Westhampton Beach softball team has a lot to be proud of.

Not only did the Hurricanes amass 14 wins in a tough League VII, the girls used those victories to power them a round further in the playoffs than they went last season.

“I couldn’t be more happy for this team,” said freshman right-handed pitcher Addison Celi. “We fought hard all year, so I couldn’t ask for more from the girls. They played their hearts out and I’m already so excited to see what we do with this energy next year.”

The starter dominated in the circle Monday, striking out the side in the top of the first and picking up five of her game-high 11 punch-outs through the bottom of the second inning. But No. 7-seeded East Islip (16-7) also came to play, using a lead-off single, steal and error to put runners on the corners, and with two outs, a foul tip by the batter led to a double steal and the early 1-0 lead.

But No. 9 Westhampton Beach (14-9) was also ready to put up a fight, stringing together a few hits in the top of the third, which started with Celi’s (two hits) bomb that hit the left field fence, but runners were left stranded at second and third. The freshman picked up three more strikeouts through the bottom of the fourth, and freshman third baseman Katie Burke caught one of several pop-ups in foul territory to end the inning. Then, it was right back to work for the Hurricanes.

Eighth grade center fielder Michaela Hertwig drew a walk and junior left fielder Ashley Erbis (two hits) laid down a bunt and darted to first base, getting there before the ball was caught.

“Beating out a throw is always the best feeling. I put my head down and ran as fast as I could to get myself to first to be a runner on base for when Addison and Katie came up to bat,” the junior said. “But it made me feel even better that I drew the throw away from home and I was excited to be safe at second, as well. I wanted to keep the inning going and hoped to get more runs on the board.”

Celi’s sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, and Burke was walked to load the bases before sophomore right fielder Kali Baumiller’s hit to deep left field. The ball was caught, but an overthrow of second trying to get Erbis back to the plate helped Hertwig reach home to tie the game.

“We rallied and came out with what we needed for momentum,” Celi said. “When that happened, there was a confidence in the dugout, and I think that confidence was with us for the rest of the game, even though we didn’t come out with the win.”

The freshman struck out two of the three batters she faced in the bottom of the fifth, and Celi, Burke and her older sister Elliejean all got their bats on the ball in the top of the sixth, but all three infielders they were hit to made their plays.

“I felt good from warmups — was throwing strikes — and hoped it would translate to the game, and it did,” Celi said. “We wanted to come out with a lot of energy, which we did. I think we did a great job of doing that.”

East Islip also showed it’s a dangerous team with two outs. The team used infield errors, wild pitches, a walk and miss in left field on the run to drive in four more. Celi grabbed a pop-up to end it.

“I think our team learned that it’s not a one-person game and we all need to have a part in a win. We can’t just do it ourselves,” Erbis said. “We need to pick others up when needed and have their back. I think I’d take away today that even if we have a good game, sometimes things just don’t go our way and we can’t let that get us down.”

The junior said the loss will fuel her team, which returns its entire roster next season.

“The past few games we have shown up and shown that we may lose, but we will put up a fight and make the other teams work for it. And we also have all of the talent to beat these teams,” Erbis said. “To be here is rewarding. We have put in so much work and to make it to this point putting our all in feels great, because we did it as a team.”

Burke said while the team will focus on improving upon the little mistakes, she was still sad to see her team only had one inning to bounce back.

“It was a great battle, and felt great to be a part of all the energy and positivity,” the freshman said. “We definitely learned a lot this season, and I think next year we can go far.”

Her pitcher promised that.

“We’re going to keep on building on what we did this year and make next year a year to remember,” Celi said. “We have the same team coming back, the only difference is we’re going to be better.”