Marissa Nosovitch's 12-strikeout gem clinches Nassau Class B softball title for Carle Place
Carle Place's Marissa Nosovitch pitches in the Nassau Class B softball finals on Thursday, May 23, 2024. Credit: Neil Miller
Marissa Nosovitch was one out away from a county title and had just watched a ball roll to the wall as she gave up a triple. Unfazed by the previous pitch, she did what she had done for the past two days and threw three strikes past the batter.
Nosovitch struck out 12 and had two hits as No. 1 Carle Place defeated No. 2 Wheatley, 4-1, in Game 2 to secure the Nassau Class B softball championship on Thursday night at Farmingdale State.
Carle Place will next face Babylon in the Long Island championship game at 5 p.m. Thursday at Martha Avenue Recreation Park in Bellport.
“We felt like it was our year this year,” Nosovitch said. “We knew we had to take care of things and I was ecstatic when I got that final swing-and-miss."
Nosovitch entered the day three strikeouts away from 500 for her career. The junior struck out the side in the second inning to reach the mark. The achievement came a day after Nosovitch also struck out 12 in a no-hitter in Game 1 of the series.
“I wasn’t expecting the team to circle me coming off the field. I didn’t know I was close to 500,” Nosovitch said. “I was excited but knew we had to stay calm. I told everyone that we still had a job to finish.”
Carle Place struck first in the third inning as Alexa Misfud dropped down a sacrifice bunt that was misplayed, leading to Isabella DeGroot scoring the game’s first run. Mifsud came around to score on a passed ball and Olivia DeMicco hit a double to bring home Emilia Johnson and give Carle Place a 3-0 lead.
Wheatley (13-9) got its run in the fourth inning when Inayah Pirzada tripled and scored on a wild pitch. Carle Place got the run back in the sixth inning as Olivia Abbatiello singled and scored on a single by DeGroot.
“I knew coming in I’d have to block out all the noise and all the chaos going on around me,” DeGroot said. “All the excitement aside, just focused on the task at hand and getting my bat to the ball.”
Carle Place (12-8) found itself in the county title game a season ago, where it lost in two games to Seaford. This season a more confident and experienced group led by Nosovitch accomplished its main goal.
“The girls worked hard last year; they worked even harder this year,” Carle Place coach Christina Loeffler said. “Marissa just keeps us going. She has been hitting her spots more this year and has been dominant for us.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.