Softball
Shannon Payne
Shannon Payne was a mind-bending pitcher at Port Richmond High School – where she threw four perfect games and 18 no-hitters, while pitching the Red Raiders to back-to-back city championships – and at Long Island University. Payne was a two-time Northeast Conference MVP and an All-East pitcher at LIU, and capped her career with three innings of no-hit ball against the U.S. team that won gold at the 2004 Olympics.(Read more...)
Geraldine Saintilus
A two-sport high school star, Geraldine Saintilus was an All-Big East basketball player at Seton Hall, where she set records for scoring, rebounding and steals, and was named New Jersey Player of the Year and Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year. At Curtis High School, Saintilus led the Warriors to three Staten Island championships and a city semifinal in basketball, and three more Island titles in softball.(Read more...)
Silvestri’s national softball champions
Silvestri’s Service Station, the quintessential modified-pitch softball team at a time when the sport’s popularity was at its peak on Staten Island and around the country, won Amateur Softball Association national championships in 1975, 1982 and 1983. Fueled by tournament MVPs George McClendon, Frank Cecero and John Currado, and a parade of former high school and college baseball stars, Silvestri’s backed up their national title runs with runner-up finishes in 1980, 1984 and 1986.(Read more...)