Danielle Gravel of Sidney takes a sign.
The Ithaca Diamonds softball team is just about ready to bring their show to a national stage.
The Ithaca Diamonds is a competitive fastpitch softball program that is also a year round development and tournament team. The team was created in 2005 to give local softball players a chance to compete in competitive area leagues and in PONY and Amateur Softball Association tournaments in New York and Pennsylvania.
The team started as a 12-and-under program made up primarily of Ithaca and Newfield athletes, but has grown into a 16-and-under team that draws from schools all over the area. The current team includes players from Candor, Newfield, Ithaca, Trumansburg, Lansing and even as far as Sidney.
On the current roster, the majority of the girls; Angela Everhart, Emily Conlon, Jennifer Boynton, Ashley Boda, Sara Ford are from Ithaca. However, Newfield has two players form their varsity squad, Mikayla Myers and Karrie Snyder, and Candor also has two players on the squad in Emily Woodin and Kait Wilcox. Nikki Arcangeli or Lansing, Kaitlyn Percy of Trumansburg and Danielle Gravel of Sidney are all sole representatives for their teams.
However, head coach Dan Driscoll and other coaches took a look at the team’s performance at this weekend’s BAGSAI 16 and under Summer Sizzler and saw that the team was really coming together.
The Summer Sizzler included teams from all over the area and as far as Long Island and Pennsylvania. The two day event had the Diamonds play three games on Saturday and then in an elimination game on Sunday.
The Diamonds went 1-2 in the first days games, losing one game to the Lady Raiders 4-1 despite an Everhart blast to left center, winning a game against the Turnpike Titans 5-3 and then dropping the last game to Capital region Rampage 4-3. Gravel, Ford and Percy all pitched strong games to set the team’s seeding for play on Sunday.
In the elimination game on Sunday, the diamonds jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead against the Diamond Dusters of Binghamton when Ford hit a three run triple. But Ford, who was also the starting pitcher, couldn’t hold the lead. The Dusters tied the Diamonds at six and would have won if not for a play where Arcangeli made a great diving catch to and throw after hitting the outfield fence. Arcangeli did leave the game in an ambulance but should be okay.
The game moved into extra inning using International softball tie rules. Under these rules, the batter who made the last out starts the next inning at second base, creating a sort of sudden death situation. The Dusters however broke through first, scoring and winning 7-6.
However, coaches Driscoll and Maureen Brinkman saw their team get experience against some teams with some better pitching.
“Overall, the girls are really hitting well against stronger pitching, as was seen this weekend,” said Driscoll. “They are getting a great mix of teams and talent to play against in tournaments that take us from Rochester, to Ohio, to Binghamton to Syracuse.”
The varying tournaments have prepared the team for their trip to the PONY National Championships in Ohio beginning on Friday, July 25 and ending on Thursday, July 31. The Diamonds will play against other under 16 teams from the Eastern and Southern U.S., Quebec and the Czech Republic under-16 team.
“It’s a great thing to have these girls, from local schools, compete at this level,” Driscoll said. “It makes them stronger players, and will translate to making their school teams and the overall level of competitive softball better in the area.”
