Softball: Roosevelt makes good on Big Mac bet with coach, winning Section 9 Class A title

MIDDLETOWN - Well, on one hand, there were gold medals and championship T-shirts. In the other hand was an excess of calories and sodium.

It was during the celebration Saturday, at one of the most triumphant moments in her coaching career, that Kristi Coughlin began to cringe as she was reminded of the debt she owed.

A bet was made with her softball team last month, stipulating that if they won a title, the coach would have to consume a Big Mac. It wouldn't be that significant a wager for most, but Coughlin is a fitness fanatic who abhors junk food.

"Coach eats nothing but healthy food and thinks what I eat is horrible," said Franklin D. Roosevelt sophomore Sanaiya Whitted, a superb athlete whose typical McDonald's order surprisingly includes two Big Macs and ice cream. "We made fun of her for eating nothing but salads and we were trying to convince her to get a burger."

Coughlin countered, suggesting that if she did, "it would have to be in exchange for something good."

So, seconds after being handed a championship plaque, mentions of Mickey D's could be heard among the players, sounding almost like a chant.

"We're gonna get video of this and it'll be hilarious," senior Jessica Feerick said while laughing. "We're gonna enjoy this."

They're lovin' it!

And the Roosevelt community enjoyed watching the top-seeded Presidents dominate in a 9-4 win over Minisink Valley, capturing a second Section 9 Class A title in three seasons.

Cali DeLawder went 3 for 3 with two home runs and five RBI, and Kayla Baez carried a perfect game through four innings while the offense built an eight-run lead.

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"Minisink is great competition and they're a rival, so it means a lot to beat them for a championship," said DeLawder, whose team upset the Warriors in the 2021 section final but lost to them in the semifinals last spring. "These are the moments you work so hard to experience, and it feels awesome."

Roosevelt (16-3) faces Section 4's Maine-Endwell in a subregional on Tuesday, 4 p.m. at Union-Endicott High School.

"When we won the section two years ago, it was exciting, but there was a little disappointment because we didn't have a state tournament," Coughlin said of a season that was shortened amid the pandemic. "Having a chance now to move on is great. If we continue playing like we have been, and maintain that confidence, I think we can compete with anyone."

The Presidents got on the board in the first inning, after Aliya Feerick walked, when DeLawder launched a two-run homer. The ball sailed high over the 220-foot sign in center and immediately set a tone.

Roosevelt added four in the second inning, including Alex Pfitscher's two-run single, and DeLawder blasted another two-run shot that made it 8-0 in the fourth.

"I was ecstatic," said DeLawder, who hit a program-record 11 homers as a sophomore last year. "It's amazing, especially in a championship game. I couldn't ask for anything better."

Whitted and Cali Delvecchio each went 2 for 3 with a run, and Pfitscher was 2 for 4 with two runs. Abbey Greenspan hit an RBI single in the second, and Erika Punkosdy singled and scored in the fifth to make it 9-3.

Baez allowed four hits and three earned runs and struck out six in a complete game, utilizing an excellent changeup as she breezed through the early innings.

"I try not to think about it," she said of quickly recording the first 12 outs, only one of which reached the outfield. "You know things are going well, but you're just focused on the next hitter."

Madison Ringus was Minisink's first base runner, doubling to left to start the fifth. A walk preceded Julia Drake's two-run double, and she later scored on an error.

Ringus went 2 for 3 with an RBI for the second-seeded Warriors (20-3). Drake allowed seven hits and three runs in 5⅔ innings of relief.

Baez closed the seventh by inducing three groundouts, igniting the celebration. But for Coughlin, the afternoon was somewhat bittersweet... although, technically, Big Mac sauce is tangy and sweet. She fulfilled her promise, footage of which was obtained by the Journal through sources.

"I'll do anything to help this team win," Coughlin said, "so if that's their motivation, I will eat just about anything they tell me to."

That comes at the risk of biting off more than she would want to chew. With a chance this week to reach the state semifinals, one can almost hear that Burger King "Whopper" jingle already.

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4