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Sports

Royals Softball in Finals as Baseball Ends Season in Second Place

Lady Royals Softball In Class C Finals, Baseball Team In Championship Hunt.

The Port Jefferson girls softball team earned the top seed in the Section XI Suffolk County playoff bracket by finishing the regular season with a 13-3 record in League VIII this season.

Led by Michiko McGivney–one of the best junior players on Long Island–the Lady Royals stormed through the 2011 season intent on winning a country championship and they’ll get their chance on Friday, May 27 when they host Pierson/Bridgehampton in the first game of the best-of-three games Suffolk Class C championship series. Game two will be played at Pierson’s Mashashimuet Park on Tuesday, May 31, with game three (if necessary) back at on Wednesday, June 1. All games are scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.

Michiko, a pitcher who also plays catcher when she’s not in the circle, currently leads her team in wins and strikeouts as well as batting average and home runs hit (6), heads a super-talented Lady Royals team which includes standout pitchers/hitters Melissa Darling and Molly Gibson as well as elite batters/fielders the likes of Renee Marchewka, Anastasia Lennon, Morgan Sakovich and Joy Morrison.

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Port Jefferson, which lost a close 4-3 game to Pierson/Bridgehampton on May 16 in the final game of the regular season, will have to be wary of a veteran Lady Whalers team which features ace pitcher Melanie Stafford along with two outstanding hitters; Kasey Gilbride and Kaci Koehne. McGivney was throwing well, striking out 11 Pierson batters in the game although a double steal by the Lady Whalers in the top of the fifth inning enabled Gilbride to score what would prove to be the game-winning run.

The Port Jefferson baseball team has had an excellent season in League VIII under the guidance of head coach Jesse Rosen, jockeying for first place for much of the year before a few hiccups down the stretch saw the Royals finish the regular season with an 11-7 record. Port Jefferson, which finished in second place in the league standings, lost two of its last three games and unfortunately were seeded number 3 in the Suffolk Class C playoff bracket, which meant the Royals would have to play their first playoff game on the road.

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Port Jefferson plays at number 2 C seed Pierson/Bridgehampton on Wednesday May 25 at 4 p.m. and if they win, they’ll then travel to number 1 C seed Bishop McGann/Mercy on Thursday, May 26 in the first game of a best-of-three-games series. Game two would be on Tuesday May 31 at Port Jefferson with game three (if necessary) back at Mercy. All games are scheduled for 4 p.m. starting times.

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