Julia Carpenter delivers double in eighth for Bay Shore

As Julia Carpenter stepped up to the plate in the top of the eighth inning with the scored tied, a runner on second base and two outs, she knew it was her time.

“It was a now or never situation, that I had to act on,” Carpenter said. “It was my chance to do something for my team. All I wanted to do was put the ball in play and make something happen.”

Carpenter delivered.

The sophomore laced a double into the gap in left that drove in Daja Farmer to break a tie at 8 and helped lead Bay Shore to a 10-8 win over host Smithtown West in a Suffolk II softball game Thursday evening. In the prior at bat, Farmer ripped a double down the left field line to keep the inning alive. Kaelyn Pellman drove in Carpenter later in the inning to provide some insurance for the Marauders (4-1).

Carpenter was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and Farmer, who was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs and two walks, showed some resilience after the two hitters in front of her made out to begin the inning.

“It was a tight game and we really wanted to win this,” Farmer said. “I knew I needed to hit the ball on the ground hard and put myself in scoring position for someone to knock me in, and Julia did just that.”

In the top of the sixth with the Marauders trailing 7-5, Jazmine Cuffie smacked a two-run homer to straightaway center, driving in Chrissy Coan tie the score at 7. Sarah Chapman’s single in the bottom of the inning drove in Maeve Kennedy to give the Bulls an 8-7 lead. Chapman finished 2-for-4, Miryah Paredes went 3-for-5 and Alicia Killeen went 1-for-3 with a sac fly and a two-run homer, as Smithown West fell to 2-2 in league play.

SEE PHOTOSBay Shore vs. Smithtown West softball

Heading into the top of the seventh down a run, Bay Shore needed a spark and coach Jackie Pasquerella turned to sophomore Elizabeth Bateman. With one out in the inning, Bateman launched a solo home run to left to tie the score at 8.

“It’s definitely tough to come off the bench cold like that, but I felt that I needed to be ready to go,” Bateman said. “I told myself to keep my head on straight, don’t freak out and you’ll be fine.”

Pasquerella added: “I see these girls swing every day and see what they can bring. I looked at the book and saw we were struggling there, so I thought it would be a good opportunity. She made me look good.”