By Rob Potter
LIVINGSTON MANOR — April 27, 2010 — Marissa Diescher and Denise Tagariello engaged in an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel when the Livingston Manor Lady Wildcats hosted The Family School Lady Falcons on Friday afternoon in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI softball game.
Manor’s Diescher, a junior, struck out 20 batters and allowed just one hit. Family School’s Tagariello, a senior, tossed a no-hitter and recorded 11 strikeouts.
However, the Lady Wildcats were able to take advantage of errors by the Lady Falcons to post a 2-1 victory.
Manor (4-1, 2-0 Div. VI) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Emily Casey hit a ground ball to second base. But the throw by Family School second baseman Nicole Hardison to first baseman Karen Soule was errant, allowing Casey to go to second base.
Casey then advanced to third base on another Lady Falcons’ error. She scored when third baseman Candace Maisel was unable to field a throw from Hardison as Hardison was trying to make sure Casey remained at third after Diescher stole second base.
The Lady Wildcats pushed their advantage to 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth. Victoria Taggart led off the frame with a fly ball to left field. Lady Falcon left fielder Sarah Berry attempted to catch the ball, but it bounced off her glove and rolled behind her.
Taggart, who was hustling from the moment she made contact with the pitch, reached second base on the play. She moved to third base when the next batter, Christine Babich, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt and was thrown out at first base.
Angela Zayas safely reached first base on a bunt. Soule then threw the ball home, but the ball went over the mitt of catcher Sarah Vevante. Taggart scored on the error.
Family School (1-4, 0-2 Div. VI) cut the Manor lead in half by scoring a run in the top of the seventh. Hardison led off the inning by hitting a dribbler down the third base line and beating the throw to first base by Lady Wildcat third baseman Maggi Calo. Hardison then promptly stole third base.
After Diescher struck out the next batter, Hardison moved to third base when Diescher threw a wild pitch. Hardison then crossed home plate on a passed ball as Taggart couldn’t catch a pitch from Diescher.
The Lady Falcons had runners on first and second with just one out when Tagariello walked and Vevante singled to center field.
But Diescher didn’t panic and proceeded to strike out the next two batters to seal Manor’s one-run win.
This was Diescher’s second outstanding pitching performance of the week. On Wednesday afternoon, she threw a perfect game as the Lady Wildcats defeated the host Fallsburg Lady Comets, 22-0, in a non-league game. Diescher also recorded 15 strikeouts in the contest.
“This was a good game,” Family School Coach Missy Dunlap said of Friday’s game between the Lady Falcons and Lady Wildcats. “We had some errors, but this was our best overall game of the season. And that includes our win against Tri-Valley.”
Dunlap was referring to her team’s 7-6 victory against the Lady Bears in a non-league game earlier this month.
“We’re young and we’re still learning,” she said. “We’ll get there.”
Manor Co-Coach Charlie Hicks was very impressed with the way the Lady Falcons played.
“They came to play,” he said. “The Family School did a great job today.”
Hicks noted that the Lady Wildcats had problems with their offense.
“We just didn’t hit today,” he said. “For some reason, our bats weren’t alive. We squandered a couple of opportunities with runners on base.”
Hicks was glad to get the win against a divisional opponent.
“We needed to have some momentum heading into next week,” he said. “We have some tough games next week.”
Manor was slated to host Kingston yesterday, play at Chester tomorrow afternoon, host Eldred on Thursday and play two games in Saturday’s Ben Chesnick Memorial Softball Tournament in Grahamsville.