Westhampton Tops Shoreham Behind Clutch Hitting, Celi's Career-High 18 Ks

Katie Burke said she was feeling the pressure, but her teammates had all the confidence in their young hitter.

Even down 0-2 in the count, the freshman third baseman fouled off pitches and held up when needed to keep her at-bat alive. On 2-2, she smacked a pitch down the left field line to drive in the go-ahead run in her Westhampton Beach softball team’s 4-1 win over Shoreham-Wading River on Monday.

“I think staying back, keeping my head on the ball and being ready for off-speed pitches helped,” Burke said. “And I think this game says a lot — that we didn’t give up and fought back. I feel like as a team we really battled and earned this win. And we really needed it.”

The Hurricanes (12-6 overall, 12-5 in League VII), found themselves in a pitching duel with Erin Cahill, but the Wildcats’ right-hander was outmatched by Westhampton Beach freshman Addison Celi, who tossed a career-high 18 strikeouts in her complete game one-hitter.

“She competes,” head coach Jeff Doroski said of his ace. “We know we are going to get her best every time she is out there for us.”

Celi said she thought it was going to be a good day after seeing how warm-ups went, and came out throwing fire, but added she couldn’t have reached her personal milestone if it wasn’t for her teammates.

“They work hard for me, so I work hard for them,” the freshman said. “I love being able to perform for the girls, but they make my job so easy by playing well behind me. It’s a great accomplishment, but I just look to do my job.”

Celi went into the top of the sixth with 14 punchouts in a 0-0 crossover matchup, but it didn’t stay that way. A hit was just missed on the slide by racing junior right fielder Kayla Spanbock to get a Shoreham-Wading River (9-7 in League VIII) runner on, and a bunt by the next batter plated the first run of the game after Burke overthrew the ball to first. She grabbed an infield pop-up right after, and Celi secured the ball on the next pop before striking out the fifth batter of the inning to retire the side.

“I have a lot of confidence in my team, so I knew we were going to come back from that,” the pitcher said. “There was no worry.”

Eighth grade second baseman Michaela Hertwig started off the bottom of the inning by reaching second on the Wildcats’ own overthrow of first, and junior left fielder Ashley Erbis reached second safely on another bad throw off her bunt that helped Hertwig reach home to tie it.

“My main skill has always been my speed, and Coach Doroski knows that, so having me bunt could move the runner while having good odds for me being safe,” Erbis said. “It puts pressure on the other team to rush to get an out.”

Then came Burke working back from being down in the count.

“After my first two failed at-bats and my error, I was feeling the pressure,” Burke said.

But Erbis had no doubt in what her team’s best hitter could do.

“Even though she’s young, she’s still so strong with great discipline in the box, and always puts up a fight,” the junior said. “There was no doubt in my mind I was scoring on her hit.”

Doroski added that knowing how solid Burke’s bat was, he moved the freshman up into the four spot to see more pitches, and she repaid the favor with a clutch hit.

“She was with us last year, but her game is growing, and she is only going to get better,” the coach said. “She understands what to do in certain situations, and today was one of them.”

After Burke doubled to drive in Erbis for the go-ahead run, the freshman made it to third on a wild pitch, and freshman short stop Kayla Blair belted a two-out, two-run single into left center to keep things going.

“She’s really got a good bat,” Burke said of Blair.

The short stop said she tried to keep her approach simple, though she admitted there were some two-out jitters.

“We faced a good pitcher tonight, so I was really just trying to time her up,” Blair said, adding she was elated as she heard her teammates cheering her on as she darted to first. “I tried to stay focused and put a good swing on any strike I could see.”

Doroski said those extra runs are always crucial in tight games, especially against a tough pitcher that also tossed 13 Ks.

“You always need those insurance runs, because you don’t know where it’s going to go,” he said. “It was nice to see.”

The coach added he and his players also talked about quick responses, so he was proud to see the girls bounce right back after going down a run.

“That’s what good teams do,” Doroski said. “Sometimes, I think that doubt creeps in on where we belong, but we are a good team, and coming back after giving up that run there — and putting four up on the board — is a good sign for us. We’ve been working hard, and we needed a win like this.”

Celi returned in the seventh to strike out the side and ice it for the Hurricanes, who have just two games left in the regular season.

“I knew I had to come back for them and pick it up where we left off,” the right-hander said. “I will pitch with any runs on the board. I will try to keep it as close as I can. It doesn’t matter the runs, I try to deliver for my team.”

The Hurricanes proved, as their coach says, that “we can’t do it with just one person,” though they also added that Celi was monumental in the win, as she always proves to be.

“She is able to adjust to the umpire’s strike zone and pull together countless strikeouts, even if she’s down in the count,” Erbis said of her pitcher. “And she has trust in her fielders to back her up. We all have so much talent that even if one person is having an off game, anyone on the team can back them up.”

Westhampton Beach travels to Eastport-South Manor (7-10 in League VII) Thursday, May 11, for a game with a 4:30 p.m. start time before hosting Miller Place (15-1) Friday in a regular-season finale that begins at 5 p.m.

“We need the whole team to contribute, and when we do we are very powerful,” Blair said. “I think this shows how determined we are as team and that we can perform and do whatever it takes to walk away with a win.”