Saturday, May 11, 2014: Brockport ace dominates at 'Ace' Morabito tourney

   Leading off today: Julia DiMartino threw 14 innings of one-hit ball, striking out 29, as Brockport advanced to the semifinals of the 33rd James "Ace" Morabito Invitational Softball Tournament on Saturday.

   Brockport defeated Suffern 1-0 on DiMartino's no-hitter with 13 strikeouts, then downed Wallkill as the all-state hurler fanned 16. Shelby Perry drove in the winning run vs. Suffern and homered vs. Wallkill.

   Sunday's semifinals in the 16-team tournament in Herkimer will pit Brockport against Pearl River and Clarkstown South vs. Valley Central.

   Valley Central routed Attica 11-1 and New Hartford 13-2. Jenna DiPierro drove in a pair of runs in each game while totaling three hits for the Vikings.

   Clarkstown South advanced with a pair of shutouts -- 11-0 over Malone and 9-0 against Hamburg. Pearl Rivers topped Herkimer 11-1 and Buffalo Sacred Heart 8-0.

   More softball: Aidan Falk, who broke New York's career record for home runs last week, hit three more Saturday as Mercy won twice in the Cicero-North Syracuse Tournament. The three blasts gave Falk 15 homes for the season and 42 in her career.

   Her season total is one short of the NYSPHSAA record set by Anna Crowley of Eastchester in 2012.

   Buffalo mourns: Natalie Lewis, a record-setting swimmer from Nardin Academy who went on to a standout career at the University of Richmond, was one of the three people killed in Friday's hot-air balloon accident in central Virginia.

   Lewis, 24, had been working since graduation as the university's director of women's basketball operations. Ginny Doyle, associate head coach of the team, also died in the mishap.

   Lewis set numerous swimming records at Nardin and won multiple medals at the Empire State Games.

   Difficult circumstances: Jake Pett, a Section 2 Class D football all-star last fall as a Greenwich junior, died Thursday in an apparent suicide, The Post-Star reported. He was 17.

   Greenwich athletes competing in a track meet Saturday at Queensbury wrote "74," Pett's jersey number on their arms in remembrance of their schoolmate. Students held a memorial for Pett on the football field Friday night.

   "A lot of the boys on our team are juniors that were in his class, so it was hard on them.” Greenwich coach Steve Patrick said.

   Loucks Games: Arlington junior Zola Golden won the girls 400 meters in a blazing :52.82 -- fastest in the country this season -- in one of the highlights of the Loucks Games in White Plains. Her :12.05 in the 100 meters was good for second place.

   Girls lacrosse: Mount Sinai, last year's NYSPHSAA Class C state champion, raced to an 8-4 halftime lead and went on to an 11-5 triumph against Class B champ Syracuse CBA on Saturday.

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   The Mustangs, 16-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class C, got four goals from senior Shayna Pirreca and two more from her junior sister, Sydney. Both have committed to the University of Florida.

   CBA's other losses this spring have been to West Genesee, No. 1 in Class A, and Skaneateles, No. 2 in Class C. Mount Sinai defeated Skaneateles 15-6 in the 2013 state finals.

   Boys tennis? Not entirely: Rhinebeck does not offer girls tennis as a fall sport, making for an oddity this spring as females hold down the majority of sports on the, uh, boys tennis team that recently won its division crown.

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   "To be honest, I don't see them as boys and girls anymore," fourth-year coach Dave Jutton told The Poughkeepsie Journal. "They are players who can play, and if you can play, you can get into the lineup."

   That's why No. 1 singles player Carol Tyson, who a year ago became the first girl to reach the Mid-Hudson Athletic League final in 27 years, is playing her sixth varsity season.

   First-year competitor Rachel Tigges teams with Emily Sullivan in first doubles. Senior Maddie Olson is part of the No. 2 doubles team.

   "When I was younger, people were more critical, but as I grew up, I earned my spot here," said Tyson, who's in her third year as the team's No. 1 singles player. "I think people just started to accept it."

   Extra points: Section 1 veteran Steve Boyer, most recently offensive coordinator at Eastchester, has been named football coach at Valhalla. He replaces Kevin Martins.