East Hampton Softball Completes Turnaround, Clinches First Postseason Berth in Four Years

The East Hampton softball team is in the midst of a huge second-half surge, one it’s hoping will translate into a deep postseason run.

After starting the season 2-6 through their first eight games, the Bonackers have totally flipped the script, winning eight of their last nine dating back to April 25. A doubleheader sweep of Harborfields at Hon. Fred W. Thiele, Jr. Recreational Facility at Stephen Hands Path on Saturday improved East Hampton to 10-6 in League V, officially clinching their first postseason berth since the pandemic-shortened season of 2021.

The Bonackers have been on the cusp of making the playoffs the past few seasons but often wound up on the outside looking in. Just last season the Bonackers finished one game out of the playoffs, but this year they’re in.

The Suffolk County Class AA playoffs are slated to begin this Tuesday, May 20, at the higher seed’s home location. Brackets won’t be officially released until the regular season is officially concluded this Friday.

“We’ve been so close to playoffs every year, but it always seemed like we fell a game short here and there,” said senior catcher and four-year varsity player Susie DiSunno, who along with fellow classmate Mackenzie Lenahan, was honored after a 7-3 victory over Hauppauge on Thursday, May 8. “I think we did a huge 180 this year, and really in just the past month and a half. The progress we’ve made is awesome.”

DiSunno said gaining confidence as a team has certainly helped spark the team’s current run, which would jibe with a lot of the team’s results. The Bonackers were losing to teams like Hauppauge and Rocky Point earlier this season, but flipped those games recently. They defeated Rocky Point on its home field, 10-5, on May 7, a game they were down, 4-0, after the first inning, and they had lost in Hauppauge, 16-4, on April 16.

“I just think we’re all in the same headspace, which definitely helps in a game,” DiSunno said. “Every time a ball is hit I have full confidence my team will get the ball and make the out.”

This is all coming during the first season Melissa Edwards has been head coach after taking over for Annemarie Brown in the offseason. Edwards, who is assisted by one of her former players at Pierson in Samantha James, said the turnaround in East Hampton took a little while but it’s nice to finally see the team coming together and winning games that she always knew they could win.

“We spent one of the first Saturdays of the season, once we could get together, going over our individual goals and the teams goals, and the goal for the year was to play Bonac softball and get ourselves to the playoffs and beyond, hopefully at least make a nice deep run to make a statement and a culture change that the expectation is that we win,” Edwards explained. “That has to be the expectation on this field. We’re playing this game because we’re winning this game.

“It’s a mindset, and I think that is slowly happening with these girls,” she continued. “They’re good, and when they play together they’re great, it’s just going out there, knowing they can do it. That took a little bit of time for them, but I think once they got a few huge wins — we’ve beaten Westhampton twice, yesterday we beat Rocky Point, who was 10-2, and we had 16 hits. We collectively put the ball in play. And that’s what I love about this team, everyone has a role.”

Lenahan, who is in her second year on varsity, said the new addition of Edwards and James to the coaching staff has been great.

“It’s been really fun this year compared to past years,” she said. “We’ve really come together as a team, and I feel like I’m able to talk to everyone personally. It’s all about the teamwork and the family we’ve made.”

Isabel Briand, the transfer from Patchogue-Medford, has been a great addition to what was already going to be a deep pitching staff coming into the season. She’s started in the circle more often than not for Bonac, and she’s had a bit of an issue finishing games, but lately has been going deeper and deeper. Briand pitched into the seventh inning in last week’s victory over Hauppauge before giving way to Ella Abran, who wound up getting the last three outs of the game.

Edwards said she’s completely OK with using all three of her pitchers in Abran, Briand and Lydia Rowan.

“We’ve had to really work as a committee this year,” she said. “They complement each other beautiful. Izzy has great velocity, good command, she’s hard to hit. Ella is a little bit slower, but that’s a change for them, so you’re offsetting each other. And Lydia Rowan is a little faster than Ella, and she’s a lefty. On paper it’s a gorgeous setup as far as a battery.

“I will say, DiSunno has done a phenomenal job behind the plate this year,” Edwards added. “She’s really solidified herself back there. In the beginning of the season she was splitting time a little bit, but she’s our quarterback back there and really sets the tone. I love that kid.”

East Hampton finishes the regular season this week with a game at Eastport-South Manor on Wednesday and then the finale home against Westhampton Beach this Friday at 4:30 p.m.