By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Cara Orlando supplied the offense, and Julia Devaney held it down in the circle.
Pittsford Sutherland (20-3) outlasted top-seeded Eastridge, 5-2 in the Section V Class AA2 Softball championship, Saturday at Gates Chili High School.
The title was the third straight for Sutherland which topped Eastridge in the Class A final a year ago.
“With Eastridge we knew it was going to be a tight game,” said Sutherland head coach Mike Scialo.
Scoreless through the first two innings, Orlando delivered a two-out, three-run home run to give the Knights a lead they did not surrender.
“If the ball hits her barrel, it’s going over the fence,” Scialo said of the sophomore outfielder. “She’s just gotten to that point. Pitch comes in, if she gets a barrel on it and gets it in the air a little bit, it’s probably going to go out.”
Gabby Lyons and Amanda Meyers scored on the play.
“That’s kind of who we are,” Scialo said. “You know, we’re gonna try to drive the ball in the air and get it over the fence a couple times in a game.”
With the wind blowing in from center that mindset, though, might have changed for Saturday’s game.
For Orlando, it didn’t make any difference.
“Every time I walk up to the plate, I’m thinking low line drive up the middle. I knew that I was going to hit line drives, and I was just lucky enough where I got enough bat on it where to go over. But my whole process is always low line drives and I think I did the same thing today.”
After giving up a pair of runs in the third inning, Devaney finished the game retiring 10 of the last 11 batters she faced.
“Julia did her job today for sure,” Scialo said. “Normally, she’s throwing a pitch in a certain spot, and she’s getting it 90 percent of the time. She wasn’t getting it today. That’s the adjustment she had to make.”
Eastridge was looking to win its first sectional title since 1992.
“I’m so proud of them,” head coach Shelly Collins said of her team. “When they were in 10th grade, they were coming off of a seven-win season. Just to grind for three years, you know, just keep getting better and work, and come in the mornings or during the winter. They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do. I can’t be prouder of them.”
Sutherland will play AA1 champion Penfield for a spot in the state tournament.
“They’re so good,” Collins said of Sutherland. “They all can hit one through nine, and they make all routine plays. They never beat themselves. So, it’s hard to be a team like that.”
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