By Rob Potter
LIVINGSTON MANOR -- June 29, 2001 – Overall Record: 11–7
League Record: 7–3 OCIAA Division V
Sectionals: Beat S.S. Seward 7-2 in the Class D quarterfinals. Beat Sullivan West/Jeff-Youngsville 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Lost to eventual state runner-up Chapel Field 14-0 in the Class D championship game.
Top Hitters: Senior third baseman Amanda Irwin hit .451 this season, which was highest on the team. Irwin, who also recorded a team-best 16 RBI, had a slugging percentage of .709, scored 21 runs and hit 10 doubles, three triples and one home run. In the field, she had a .911 fielding percentage, 29 putouts and 22 assists.
Senior catcher Rachelle “Rocky” Irwin sported a .435 batting average and a .565 slugging average. She knocked in nine runs and scored 20 runs, in addition to hitting four doubles and two triples on the season. Defensively, she had a .965 fielding percentage and 12 putouts. She only committed one error on the season. (That fielding percentage was the best on the Lady Wildcat roster, slightly ahead of the .953 mark posted by senior first baseman Ashley Bowers.)
Sophomore center fielder Jen Wright batted .364 and scored 14 runs. She had a slugging average of .400 and had four RBI. In the field, Wright committed only one error, while recording 14 putouts and three assists. Her fielding percentage was .944.
Bridget Ellison, a junior shortstop, hit .320 this spring and knocked in 15 runs. She had a .400 slugging average, 15 RBI and four doubles.
Top Pitcher(s): Sophomore Alys Mann posted a 9-6 record and 1.35 earned run average as the team’s number one hurler. In 103 innings pitched, Mann struck out 74 batters and walked 75. Mann also fielded her position well, as she had a .949 fielding percentage. She made only two errors, had nine putouts and 28 assists.
Jen Wright also took to the mound for the Lady Wildcats this past season. She had a 2-1 record with a 2.00 e.r.a. In 21 innings pitched, she struck out 10 batters and walked 12.
Season Highlight: “Definitely beating Jeff-Youngsville to get to the sectional final,” coach Gail Denman said. “It went into extra innings and was an outstanding game. We played incredible defense and our offense came through.”
Season Lowlight: “Not scoring a run against Chapel Field all season,” Denman said. “We played better than the scores indicate. They beat us 6-0 and 8-0 in the regular season and then 14-0 in the (sectional) final.”
Team Awards: At the Livingston Manor Athletic Banquet, which was held on June 12, three awards were handed out. Mann and Rachelle Irwin were named co-MVPs, sophomore right fielder Jamie Bowers received the Most Improved Award and Amanda Irwin won the Coaches’ Award.