G&C’s Turner slams door on Allstate

This time, it was G&C Petroleum that was in good hands.

G&C, behind the shutout pitching of Olga Turner, blanked Allstate, 9-0, last Thursday night in the North Fork Women’s Softball League at the Polo Grounds in Greenport. G&C jumped on Allstate early, scoring three times in the bottom of the first inning, then adding four more runs in the second to take control of the game.

First-inning singles by Jackie Zilnicki and Emily Commins set the table for run-scoring singles off the bats of Katie Mickaliger, Laurie Mickaliger and Cathy Daniels. In the second, Grace Conklin and Zilnicki singled, Turner drilled a two-run double, Commins lined a run-scoring single and Katie Mickaliger capped the rally with a run-scoring double.

G&C (5-2) added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth when Daniels and Kerry Tooker singled and Jane van den Thoorn brought both runners home with a single. Turner was masterful on the mound the entire game.

“Olga did a wonderful job,” van den Thoorn said. “She kept throwing strikes. She was unbelievable.”

Van den Thoorn talked about how much Allstate has improved. “They certainly have improved,” she said. “But we also did a good job.”

With the strong pitching of Amy Kirincic, backed up by the tight outfield defense of Erin Bednoski, Jillian Clacherty, Lisl Thomas and Erin Snyder, Allstate (3-3) kept the game close most of the way.

“Although we lost,¬ we have greatly improved our skills on the field,” Jill Schroeder said. “We are a team that has worked hard to get where we are and are continuing to get better each game.”

In last Thursday’s other game, Eric’s Lawn Care blanked Community Speech and Language Learning Center, 14-0. Jacki Goy belted a grand slam for Eric’s Lawn Care in the third inning and finished the game with seven runs batted in. Liz Mansdorf, Amber Breese-Smith, Pam Schider, Cheryl Drumm and Dawn Conway all had two hits for Eric’s Lawn Care.

Drumm, the winning pitcher, struck out seven batters.

“We capitalized on our rallies and played a solid game defensively,” Goy said. “It was a great game.”

Community Speech (0-6) kept the score close for much of the game, as Lindsey Gallagher, Nicole Clark, Michelle Salmon and Theresa Smith all made sparkling defensive plays.

“Our team is really coming together nicely,” Gallagher said. “We are working hard and we feel it is really starting to show, especially in our defense.”