Mike Pallisco almost has nightmares about it. Prom night always seems to come up in the midst of Jamaica’s playoffs. The 2003 season was particularly memorable to the coach.
“I was cutting a girl’s fingernails off on the way to the game,” Pallisco said with a laugh.
There was no horror show this time, no catastrophes. The day after the school’s prom, No. 5 Jamaica took an early lead and held on for a 4-3 victory against No. 11 Queens HS of Teaching in a PSAL Class B softball semifinals elimination game Wednesday at home.
“It turned out alright,” Pallisco said. “I think they all put their priorities in the right place.”
QHST is now out of the playoffs, while the Beavers will take on No. 7 Lab Museum in another elimination game Thursday at John Bowne HS in Queens. The winner of that plays top-seeded LaGuardia in the championship Sunday at St. John’s University.
Jamaica (14-2) did something it hasn’t always done this year: hold a lead. The Beavers led early Tuesday in a loss to LaGuardia and they had a lead on Queens HS of Teaching (16-4) in a non-league game this season, too.
“In the beginning of the year, we blew two games like that,” Pallisco said. “We just couldn’t hold the lead.”
This time, Jamaica scored twice in both the second and third innings and held strong. Ace pitcher Je Lisa Rhodes was a big reason why. She gave up three runs, one earned, on four hits and struck out 16 in seven innings. Pallisco heard that Lab Museum has a strong lineup, but he has full faith in Rhodes, whose nickname is “Smiley,” because she always has a smile on her face no matter the situation.
“I hear that a lot about a lot of teams,” the coach said. “But that’s before they face my pitcher.”
Bria Tull was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs and Jae Anne Baccay and Varshalini Ramdeo also added RBIs for the Beavers, who are in their second straight semifinals. Prom night was an issue in last year’s playoffs, too. But it didn’t come back to bite Jamaica this time.
“As long as they get to school, it’s OK,” Pallisco said.
No. 1 LaGuardia 3, No. 7 Lab Museum 1: Alex Sappington gave up one run on three hits to lead LaGuardia (21-0), which now earns a berth in Sunday’s championship at St. John’s University.
Talia Rosenhaus had the lone RBI and Sarah D’Amico gave up three runs on eight hits and struck out four for LMU (15-3), which takes on No. 5 Jamaica in an elimination game Thursday at John Bowne HS in Queens.