Alexandra Prescia's left pinky turned different colors over the last few days.
The St. Joseph by the Sea left fielder caught Liana Jordan against Notre Dame Wednesday and had a pitch hit her glove awkwardly. Her finger turned different shades of blue, purple and red leaving Sea coach Mike Ponsiglione unsure if her was going to put his left fielder in the leadoff spot.
“I was thinking about moving her down, but I said let me leave it that way,” Ponsiglione said. “It worked out.”
Indeed. Prescia, who had the purple pinky taped, was pain-free, but certainly hurt Archbishop Molloy. She went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored in the Vikings 6-2 win over the defending CHSAA state champs in non-league softball in Huguenot Saturday morning. It was part of a stellar day for Sea’s top of the order as second-place hitter Liana Jordan added two sacrifice flies.
Denis Gostev
St. Joseph by the Sea's Alexandra Prescia drove in two against Molloy on Saturday
Photos: St. Joseph by the Sea-Molloy
Denis Gostev
St. Joseph by the Sea's Jackie Cautela allowed just five hits.
Photos: St. Joseph by the Sea-Molloy
“It’s fine,” Prescia said. “I can play through it. I told him I could [even] catch.”
It took Victoria Matrangelo throwing out a runner at home to finally awaken Sea, which is ranked No. 2 in the city by The Post. It came on a relay from Christina Tufano after a Dana Moss double in the third to end the frame and keep Molloy off the board in the third. The second-ranked Stanners already had two runs on the board from the first inning as Theresa Conway and Maria Palmeri scored on two separate Sea errors.
“We needed something to get us going,” Ponsiglione said. “We needed a spark.”
Added Molloy coach Maureen Rosenbaum: “It seemed like we didn’t hit anymore after that.”
The Vikings scored three times in the bottom of the frame to take 3-2 lead. Sea then unleashed its small ball game in the fourth after Tufano singled to lead off the inning. Stephanie Abolt had a bunt single. After a strikeout, Kristy Colangelo was hit by a pitch for the second straight time and Molloy ace Victoria Goldbach made an errant throw to first to score the first of three more runs to make it 6-2.
“After we scored those [first] runs we were more relaxed, more comfortable playing,” Sea ace Jackie Cautela said.
Cautela settled down after the defense let her down in the first inning. She allowed just five hits – not more than one in any inning – struck out eight and walked none. The junior moved her curve and screwball masterfully over both sides of the plate.
The bottom four hitters in Molloy’s order went 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts. Lack of production after its big three hitters has been a disturbing trend for the Stanners, who also fell on Friday to Mary Louis. Sea turned a double play in the fifth and catcher Vanessa Jioia picked off a runner at first in the sixth.
“We are playing well,” Rosenbaum said. “We just need to be a little more consistent with the bats. Dig in a little bit.”
Sea heeded its wakeup call in the third inning and has now beaten nearly all of the top city CHSAA contenders. If they meet Molloy again it would be in the catholic state playoffs, where the Vikings hope to see a much different color – gold.
“It made us more confident in ourselves,” Prescia said. “We hope to play them again.”
jstaszewski@nypost.com
Archbishop Molloy, Liana Jordan, St. Joseph, Alexandra Prescia, Sea coach Mike Ponsiglione, Jackie Cautela, Jackie Cautela, the Vikings, The Vikings, Prescia
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