Newsday: Hagenah powers Post past Merrimack
By Steve Marcus
Newsday
Full Story
C.W. Post third baseman #Nicole Hagenah# is the type of power hitter who can hit the ball into next week -- which becomes more appropriate with each game for the Pioneers, now one victory away from next weekend's NCAA Division II national championship in Salem, Va.
Hagenah's 14th homer of the season -- one shy of the school's freshman record -- helped Post (40-14) to a 4-2 victory over Merrimack (31-22) in the East Super Regional on Friday in Brookville. Christina Berardi pitched a three-hitter and struck out nine. Post can wrap up the best-of-three series when it faces Merrimack at noon Saturday. If necessary, a third and deciding game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Hagenah also leads the team with a .468 average and 61 RBIs. She hit .655 with seven homers and 32 RBIs last year for Commack. Not bad, but the Post staff figured there was even more power in Hagenah's 5-9 frame. "She's very strong,'' coach Jamie Apicella said. "When she first came in, mechanically we had to revamp her swing. We worked hard on mechanics all fall and she definitely responded. Her mechanics are what's carrying her now. As a freshman, you never expect those types of numbers . . . But we knew she was going to have a special season.''
Hagenah also credited the change in swing, saying: "When we started live pitching in the fall, I was hitting the ball like crazy. I got more power pushing through the ball.''
She had a career day at Queens College, hitting three home runs and driving in 10 runs in a doubleheader. She is aiming for the freshman home run record set by Christie Softie, who also holds the career mark with 48.
Hagenah has struck out only nine times in 158 at-bats, but that is nine more than last year at Commack. "Usually, I'm really patient at the plate,'' she said. "This year, I've been more aggressive. If I see a good pitch, I'll swing because most of the time I'm not going to see many good pitches, so when I see one, I have to jump on it.''
Post took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI triple by Britney Agostini and an RBI single by Krysta Palazzo. It became 3-0 in the third, with Hagenah's single moving Kaci Hopkins to third to set up Kendall Bright's RBI single. Hagenah led off the fifth with a homer that easily cleared the chain-link fence in left.
"I had a feeling the ball was coming inside,'' she said of the pitch by Merrimack starter Kelli Jo Deardorff. "She was jamming me up and inside. I moved back off the plate a little bit. When they do leave it in the middle of the plate inside is usually when I hit home runs.''