Softball: Unbeaten Carmel earns statement win over Arlington, 9-3

CARMEL - So, how good is Carmel?

If anyone was wondering, it didn't take the Rams long to answer that question in Tuesday's game against Arlington.

Carmel put up eight runs on the Admirals in the first inning, then rode the momentum the remainder of the way for a 9-3 statement victory.

"Honestly, that was a big win for us," Carmel junior Mandy Fernandez said. "We have always been an underdog, especially against this team, so just coming out with a win is huge for us. We're 6-0, now, and it's good."

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Last season, Carmel finished just below-.500 and was bounced out of the opening round of the Section 1 Class AA playoffs.

This spring has been a different story. The much-improved Rams are one of three undefeated teams left standing in the Lower Hudson Valley, with the other two being Class AA's Ketcham and Class B's Rye Neck.

Carmel had beaten up the likes of Arlington B, Fox Lane, Suffern and Scarsdale before Tuesday, but the Admirals served as their first big test. They were more than prepared.

"It's weird to say I'm not surprised, because I see them every day and just the work they put in hitting, pitching and fielding," Carmel coach Brandon Johanson said. "They come out every single day and all these girls can play. They're all well-versed in the game. They're ready to go, nerves are not something they have. They just want to play."

Just as Johanson had seen daily in practice and through their other victories throughout the season, Carmel's bats came alive.

The Rams batted around the order in the bottom of the first inning and strung together an eight-run outing to immediately put the Admirals in a hole.

Carmel was relentless for the remainder of the game and kept the pressure up. Although Arlington managed to minimize the damage and only allow one other run, the Rams stranded runners in scoring position in five of the six innings they got to bat.

"This was probably the toughest team we've played so far, so coming off of this, I think the rest of the season will be good for us," Fernandez said. "We just got to keep working hard, coming to practice with the same momentum every day. We can't just let this get to us because we're winning and winning. We just need to keep working."

For Arlington, it will have to regroup and recover. The Admirals got a couple of runners across, but not nearly enough to threaten the Rams' big lead.

"We had a tough first inning, and we have to find a way to bounce back," Arlington coach David Ballantyne said. "We didn't swing bats consistently enough up and down the lineup to mount any kind of comeback. Aside from Sara Anderson, who hit the ball hard all day, and a couple other girls with good swings, we have to be able to find more consistent at-bats."

What it means

Carmel easily passes its first big test and is right in the running for what should be a compelling Class AA race to watch this spring.

"I knew Carmel was improving, and I saw that last year, they had some good young players," Ballantyne said of the Rams. "He's got a good core with some scrappy hitters that put the bat on the ball and play within themselves. They took advantage of us in the first inning.

"(Class AA) is kind of wide open. There's some strange scores going in terms of wins in losses. In some ways, it's wide open in our league and in Class AA."

Player of the game

Alyssa Zangrilli, Carmel: The senior co-captain was instrumental in the circle. After giving up a run to start the game, she settled down and kept a good-hitting Arlington team at bay. She limited the Admirals to three runs on seven hits in a complete game effort. She also had a RBI at the plate.

"I don't think anyone expected this of us, so this is great," Zangrilli said. "I didn't doubt my defense, and I had a lot of confidence in our offense, so it felt nice."

By the numbers

Carmel (6-0) — Sadie Zion went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Hailey Basso was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Sasha Ramdat was 1-for-2 with a RBI and drew two walks. Morgan Mallegol had a double, RBI and two walks. Mandy Fernandez went 1-for-2 with a RBI, walk and was hit by a pitch. Sasha Ramdat and Sam Stallone each had a hit and a RBI.

Arlington (7-3) — Sara Anderson went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a triple. Sophie Cargain was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Katelyn Wiehe had a RBI. Alyssa Martin and Allie Cubberly each had a hit.

Quotable

"We've been working really hard, it's been about a six-year process for us to get up to where we are now," Johanson said. "We feel like we can play with people. Obviously, any day, anybody can win, but we just build our confidence each day in practice. The girls put all the work in. They're ready to go. It doesn't matter who we play, we just like to play. They're always having fun whether we're winning or losing. Right now, we've been on the winning end, so we're excited and just trying to build momentum and keep it going."

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Softball: Unbeaten Carmel earns statement win over Arlington