The outcome was never really in doubt.
The Poly Prep softball team cruised to a 7–1 victory over Horace Mann in the Ivy League semifinals on May 23, securing yet another championship berth for the squad.
“Overall, our team performance was really great,” said Blue Devils senior centerfielder Morgan O’Mara. “We came out here ready to win. This whole season we’ve been really working towards a championship so we couldn’t be more excited to be there now.”
Poly Prep jumped out to a 3–0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. They padded their lead with one more in the fourth, but Horace Mann managed to get on the board in the top of the fifth inning, making it a three-run game. That was, however, all the Lions would be able to muster.
The Blue Devils added another run in the bottom of the frame and then two more in the next to effectively wrap up the game and steal away any momentum from Horace Mann.
The game was all about senior Ava O’Mara. She was both the starting pitcher and the lead-off hitter for Poly Prep and she was nothing short of dominant in both roles.
O’Mara silenced the Lions’ batters with a complete game, allowing only three hits and just one run, striking out four, and walking only two. She says she expects nothing less of herself whenever she takes the mound.
“My job is just to focus on the batter, pitch my game, hit my corners, hit my spots,” O’Mara said. “Horace Mann is a good hitting team. They’ve hit before when we faced them two other times so it’s really about working ahead in the count, and those first pitch strikes are important.”
O’Mara also hit her stride at the plate. In four at-bats, she stroked two hits, stole three bases, scored three runs, and was able to get on base in every single at-bat. Offensively, she wasn’t alone, getting support from first baseman Nova Stoller, catcher Jane Malafronte, third baseman Chase Behar, and twin sister Morgan as Poly came out swinging from the beginning.
Despite her team’s strong performance against Horace Mann, head coach Mildred Piscopo hopes the team can do better when they face off against Fieldston in the state championship game.
“We didn’t swing the bats as well as I know that we can so I’m hoping we that we can pick it up for tomorrow,” Piscopo said. “We just have to relax when we get up to bat and just try to have some fun and not try to press and do too much.”
The title tilt will mark the third championship match-up between Fieldston and Poly Prep, so Ava O’Mara suspects that relaxation might be a little tough for some of these Blue Devils. Still, she says, the team has high hopes, and after taking down Fieldston last year, Poly is hoping for a repeat performance this spring.
“There’s a lot of nerves and you gotta find a way to cope with those nerves and play our game,” Ava said. “Every coach in the league has said we’re the better team so it’s just about playing like it.”
