Varsity Roundup: Haldane

BOYS’ LACROSSE — On May 2 the Blue Devils faced a familiar foe, the Briarcliff Bears, who beat Haldane in the Class D semifinal last year. This time, however, it was Haldane that came out ahead with a 9-5 win. The Blue Devils took a 4-0 lead after the first quarter, but the goals stopped coming and by the end of the third it was 5-3. Senior Frankie DiGilio scored two straight goals in the fourth quarter, giving Haldane a 7-3 lead, before the Bears scored two of their own in 19 seconds to cut the deficit again. In the last minute the Blue Devils scored two more times. 

Back at home on Monday (May 6), Haldane picked up its third straight win, defeating the Clarkstown South Vikings, 9-7. Senior goalie Jordon Hankel had 11 saves, while Liam Gaugler, Fallou Faye and Ryan Van Tassel had two goals each. On Wednesday, the Blue Devils honored their 12 seniors — DiGilio, Hankel, Gaugler, Van Tassel, Michael Murray, Erik Stubblefield, Luca DiLello, PJ Ruggiero, Evan Giachinta, Jesse Tippett, Dylan Rucker and Jack Hartman — but lost a thriller to the Westlake Wildcats, 9-7. 

With 2:03 left in the third quarter, the Blue Devils were down 6-2 after Westlake scored four in a row. Then, in the final 1:36 of the quarter, the Blue Devils scored three straight of their own to cut the lead to one. Twenty-nine seconds into the fourth quarter, DiGilio scored to tie the game, but the Wildcats pulled ahead to take the victory. 

Haldane has two more regular season games. On Monday (May 13) the Blue Devils travel to North Salem, and they host Yonkers at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

GIRLS’ LACROSSE — The Blue Devils notched a 15-11 win on the road on May 3 against Keio Academy. But in their second game in two days, they suffered a tough home defeat, 17-4, on May 4 against Brewster. Haldane then won a thriller on Tuesday (May 7) at James I. O’Neill, 19-17. The team played its last game of the regular season on Thursday against Rye Neck.  

Photos by Skip Pearlman

BASEBALL — Haldane couldn’t score in the bottom of the seventh inning with the bases loaded, one out and the score tied 5-5 on May 3 against Pawling. The game then went to extra innings, with Pawling scoring four in the top of the eighth to win, 9-5. The two teams faced off again when the Blue Devils traveled to Pawling on Tuesday (May 7). The Blue Devils lost 5-1 and then on Wednesday dropped another game, 11-5, to the North Salem Tigers. 

On Thursday the Blue Devils played the Westlake Wildcats on the road. After that they have only two more regular season games: May 13 against Irvington and the next day against Alexander Hamilton. 

SOFTBALL — After losing to Haldane earlier in the week, 10-7, the Croton-Harmon Tigers got their revenge on their home field, winning 13-1 over the Blue Devils on May 2. On May 3, Haldane lost 8-6 on the road against Putnam Valley. Sophia Taylor went 3-for-4 with an RBI; Allegra Clementson was 2-for-4 with two runs scored; Gabby Perilli went 2-for-5 with an RBI; and Callie Sniffen had two hits, including her eighth home run of the season. 

Haldane bounced back with a thunderous 19-7 win on Monday (May 6) over Blind Brook. Sniffen delivered again, hitting her ninth home run to go with 4 RBIs and two runs scored. Eighth grader Sophia Taylor got the win for the Blue Devils. 

The team extended its winning streak to two, defeating the Leffell Lions 13-6 on Tuesday. Clementson pitched well, striking out eight while going 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. Despite two big wins in a row, Haldane suffered a 15-0 defeat in five innings against Edgemont on Wednesday. 

The Blue Devils’ last game of the regular season was Thursday at home against the North Salem Tigers. 

TRACK AND FIELD — The Blue Devils competed in the Crusader Relays on May 3 at Monroe-Woodbury. Jake Thomas finished 21st in the shot put with a distance of 35-11, a personal record for him. Owen Powers finished 11th in the boys’ 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:03. Jack Illian was 13th with a time of 10:07 in the same event. Ashley Sousa took 21st in the girls’ 1,500-meter run with a 5:37 time. Haldane’s next meet will be tomorrow (May 11) at Middletown.