High school freshmen reunite as friendly rivals

For the much-anticipated first meeting of the season of Bay Ridge rivals, the Xaverian Clippers crushed the Fontbonne Bonnies 11-1 at Dyker Park. After Josie Lamattino hit an RBI double to make the score 5-1 in the fourth inning, the Bonnies were shut down the rest of the game on the strong pitching performance of junior Ashley Dalo. Except for one run, Dalo pitched a consistent game, giving up just two hits while striking out 10 batters.

In addition to the rivalry, the game also contained a subplot that reunited Fontbonne freshman Kate Kmiotek and Xaverian freshman Sienna Bocchino. Just six years ago, both girls were teammates on the 8-year Dyker Heights Knights team, and now the girls were facing each other as high school rookies who stood out to make the starting lineup of their varsity teams.

As for Kmiotek, “the apple didn’t fall from the tree,” as the freshman followed in her mother’s footsteps as a four-year varsity catcher for Bishop Kearney. Known as “Special K,” Kmiotek keeps her softball skills sharp as a member of the New Jersey Pride travel team, where she plays every position on the field. For this season’s opener against St. Francis Prep, Kmiotek played third, pitched two innings and was the relief catcher to finish the game.

“In order to play at her level, you have to be devoted to the game and manage your school work,” said Kearney alumna mom Christine Kmiotek. “You’ve got to keep academics in the forefront to be successful while playing sports.” 

For Bocchino, her interest in softball also developed from the Dyker Heights Knights right up to the present while playing for the Virginia Unity Johnson travel team. As a left-handed thrower and hitter, Bocchino plays an adept center field and is a contact hitter. Extra Innings Softball recently ranked her #57 nationally for the class of 2026. In this recent game as the Xaverian leadoff hitter, Bocchino’s contact and speed were on display as the freshman slashed a ball to third and beat the throw to first for an infield hit to start the game. 

Coincidentally, Bocchino also follows in the footsteps of her father, Anthony, who played minor league baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates and is a Xaverian Hall of Fame inductee. Cyclone fans may remember Bocchino playing for the Williamsport Crosscutters when he scored the winning run in extra innings to break a tie to beat Brooklyn for the 2003 New York Penn League Championship.   

“She was considering joining Kate at Fontbonne,” Bocchino said while watching his daughter dig into the batter’s box. “But I really think that she went to Xaverian just to break some of my records. She’s that type of kid.”