By Rob Potter
HANCOCK — May 28, 2010 — Junior pitcher Marissa Diescher threw her eighth no-hitter of the season to help the Livingston Manor Lady Wildcats record a 2-1 win over the host Family School Lady Falcons on Monday afternoon in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI softball game.
Diescher had 20 strikeouts as Manor prevailed in what was the regular season finale for both teams.
The next game for Manor (15-3, 4-0 Div. VI), which clinched the Div. VI title on April 29 with a 12-0 victory over the Eldred Lady Yellowjackets, will be the Section IX Class D championship game on Saturday, June 5 at Minisink Valley High School. The Lady Wildcats will face Eldred in that title tilt.
The Family School did not qualify for sectional play and ended its 2010 season with a record of 4-9 overall and 0-4 in Div. VI.
For the first three innings of Monday’s contest, Diescher and Family School pitcher Denise Tagariello kept the opposing batters off balance and the score remained 0-0.
But both teams put a run on the scoreboard in the fourth inning.
With one out in the top of the fourth, Diescher singled to right field. After moving to second base on a groundout by Victoria Taggart, Diescher scored when Brittanie Fredenburg hit a bloop single to shallow right field.
The Lady Falcons evened the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Tagariello struck out but ran to first base when the ball eluded Manor catcher Taggart on the third strike. Following a strikeout, Tagariello advanced to second base and third base on two passed balls and crossed the plate on a wild pitch.
After walking Kayla Manjorin-
Russo, Diescher struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Manor scored the game-winning run in the top of the seventh. The first batter of the frame, Emily Casey, singled to center field. She then moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Angela Zayas.
The next batter, Meagan Edwards, bunted and sprinted to first base. Edwards beat the throw to the bag for a hit. Casey began running as soon as Edwards bunted, didn’t slow down as she rounded third base and crossed home plate to give the Lady Wildcats a 2-1 lead.
Sam Scott then stepped into the batter’s box and was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base with just one out. But Tagariello thwarted Manor’s hopes of adding insurance runs by getting a fly out and a strikeout to end the inning.
Diescher then sealed her team’s victory by striking out the side in the bottom of the seventh.
After the game, Diescher said she felt good in the pitcher’s circle the entire contest.
“It’s always fun to play here,” she said of the The Family School’s field. “With all of their fans watching, it’s energizing.”
Diescher noted that she used her usual array of pitches in tossing the no-hitter, but featured one pitch in particular.
“We went to the cutter more today,” she said. “It worked very well.”
“She pitched a great game today,” Manor Co-Coach Charlie Hicks said of Diescher.
Hicks also praised Tagariello for her performance in the circle.
“She pitched well,” he said. “We only had three or four hits and many times we hit the ball right at people. I would have liked to seen us get some more hits, but we’ll take the win.”
Family School Coach Missy Dunlap noted that it “was a tough game.
“But I would rather lose like this than have a big loss,” she said.
“It was a good game to the end with competitive play by all,” Dunlap continued. “Many great plays by my defense helped keep the score tied, as well as great pitching by senior Denise Tagariello. Going into the game, we mentally prepared on what to do with the bat against Marissa. Many girls practiced bunting and others practiced slapping. What it boils down to is confidence. You have to be confident when stepping into that box against her.
“The Lady Falcons will be losing many key players this season,” Dunlap concluded. “The whole infield will be leaving this season as well as our left fielder. Next year will be another building year.”