By Rob Potter
HANCOCK — May 31, 2002 – A six-run outburst in the second inning carried visiting Livingston Manor to a win over The Family School Wednesday in a Section IX Class D softball quarterfinal.
Manor (8-9) added one run in the third, two in the fifth and four in the sixth inning en route to a 13-6 victory.
With the win, the Lady Wildcats advanced to face Chapel Field in the Class D semifinals. (That game was slated for yesterday afternoon, too late for inclusion here.)
In that key second frame, the Lady Wildcat batters showed patience and drew six walks from Lady Falcon pitcher Lori McLeod to score three runs. Then with two outs and the bases loaded, Bridget Ellison smacked a bloop single to right field to clear the bases and make it a 6-0 game.
The Family School (6-9) scored one run in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings to close the gap to 9-3.
After Manor scored four runs in the top of the sixth, the Lady Falcons mounted a comeback in the bottom of the sixth. A Manor error and RBI singles by Annelice Grice and Dee Gill allowed The Family School to make it a 13-6 game.
Lady Falcon Lauren Blythe recorded a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh, as the team attempted to rally in its last at-bat. But Manor pitcher Alys Mann then got a strikeout and ground out to end the game and preserve the Lady Wildcat victory.
Alys Mann finished the game with eight strikeouts. Offensively, she had two RBIs. Sister Ashley Mann was 3-for-3 and scored four runs for the Lady Wildcats.
“The key was our patience at the plate,” said Gary Mann, who was coaching Manor because Coach Gail Denman was out of the county due to a death in her family. “And we had good senior leadership from Bridget Ellison and Megan Roser. Bridget’s hit with the bases loaded was key. We had timely hitting when we needed it.”
Dee Gill led The Family School offense, going 3-for-4 on the afternoon.
“We beat them twice in the regular season, so we knew they would be looking to knock us off today,” Family School Coach Mike Losicco said. “They played great and did a nice job.”
Losicco also praised the performance of his own team.
“I’m happy that we made it to the (sectional) playoffs,” he said. “I’m very proud of what the girls did this year.”