Giovanniello pitches, hits Floral Park to LI title

Floral Park High School pitcher #16 Sam Giovanniello drives a pitch into the outfield during the varsity softball Class A Long Island Championship vs. Eastport-South Manor at Mitchel Athletic Complex. (June 8, 2010) Credit: James A. Escher
After escaping a once dim top-frame where she threw eight balls to start the Long Island Class A final, Sam Giovanniello was relieved. But despite her pitching heroics, as she scrambled in the Floral Park dugout between innings, Giovanniello knew she had to bat in mere seconds. The frantic situation yielded spur-of-the-moment sarcasm.
"Oh God," Giovanniello said while scouring for her batting gloves. "I love the first inning."
It was a comment the pitcher gladly admits was made out of relief. In reality, she should love the third inning even more.
Via seven innings of pitching out of trouble and a third inning three-run inside the park home run, Giovanniello led Floral Park to a 6-1 victory over Eastport-South Manor Tuesday at Mitchel Athletic Complex. Floral Park (21-5), the defending state Class A champion, will play in a state semifinal at Waterloo High School at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
"I work better when the pressure is on," Giovanniello said. "The adrenaline is running obviously more in the first inning. But once you get those first three outs, it's a lot better."
Floral Park coach Dan Sackman recognized after those eight pitches that the first three outs for Giovanniello were going to be tougher. In his three years coaching Giovanniello, he had never seen her start a game like this. A trip to the mound was warranted.
"That's just what it was, [excitement], no question, the adrenaline," Sackman said. "I really didn't say anything, just take a minute to settle down."
From there, Giovanniello settled enough to blank Eastport-South Manor (19-5) for six innings while Floral Park took a 6-0 lead by the bottom of the third. Eastport-South Manor scored in the top of the fourth on Ashley Mendez's run-scoring triple.
But in a matchup between two of the best pitchers and leadoff hitters on Long Island between Giovanniello and Eastport-South Manor's Catherine Havens, Giovanniello was the star.
And when it comes to that inside the park home run, Giovanniello remains steadfast. Even with the clutch hit against Havens, she still thinks it came as a result of Sackman's game plan of just "making contact," resulting in forced errors. And a little luck.
Said Giovanniello: "It was kind of an error, I don't think it was a true home run."

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