Babylon Softball Takes Suffolk Class B Title

The number one ranked Babylon Panthers varsity softball team (20-0) swept the Center Moriches Red Devils in a best-of-three-games series this past week, securing the high school’s third straight Suffolk County Class B softball title.

Senior starting pitcher Tiana Giuliano notched 12 strikeouts in the Game One and allowed just three hits over seven innings pitched. Her efforts helped her team take a 2-0 win and a 1-0 lead in the series. Kayla Yantz came home on a first-and-third double steal that ended up being the go-ahead run.

Babylon took a 8-1 lead over Center Moriches in Game Two, but the Red Devils chipped away at Giuliano. Their hits simply landed where the fielders were not, allowing Center Moriches to rally back to being down 8-7 in the seventh. Giuliano hunkered down, striking out the final batter with the tying and go-ahead runners on second and third. Junior slugger Brianna Goodfellow helped supply a lot of the offense by going 4-for-4, including a two-run homer in the fourth.

“You gotta play seven innings,” noted Coach Rick Panzone. “I hate to say we were looking ahead; we just a had a bit of a let down and before you knew it, it was 8-7.”

He added: “But a win’s a win, and we’re happy to have it.”

Giuliano, the staff’s ace, improves to 18-0 on her season with an earned-run average just over one.

The girls will now look forward to what turns out be a Nassau versus Suffolk battle against Carle Place in Rhinebeck, New York on June 5th at 1:00pm. After losing to Carle Place last year in the same game, Coach Punzone said he thinks the girls will embrace the underdog role and come out aggressive on Tuesday.

“We were in the championship last year against Carle Place and lost,” said Panzone. “It’s going to be a low scoring game, and a lot of the girls this could be their last game. They know what we have to do win.”