By Rob Potter
WATERLOO — June 15, 2010 — A week after defeating Eldred to win the Section IX Class D softball title, the Livingston Manor Lady Wildcats returned to the diamond on Saturday morning.
And Manor made it a triumphant return by beating the Section II champion Germantown Lady Clippers, 4-1, in the Class D semifinals of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Softball Championships at Waterloo High School.
As a result, Manor moved on to face Section V champion Bolivar-Richburg in the state title game.
The keys to the Lady Wildcats’ win over Germantown (22-3) were an excellent performance by junior pitcher Marissa Diescher and a clutch two-run single in the bottom of the first inning by senior third baseman Brittanie Fredenburg.
Diescher struck out 12 batters and recorded her ninth no-hitter of the season. Her teammates gave her all the run support she needed in the bottom of the first.
Maggi Calo led off the frame with a single to right field and promptly stole second base. Christine Babich then earned a walk and Diescher singled to center field to load the bases. After Germantown pitcher Carissa Phillips recorded a strikeout, Fredenburg stepped into the batter’s box and ripped a single to center field. Calo and Babich both scored on the hit to give Manor a 2-0 lead and Fredenburg advanced to second base on the throw to home plate.
The next batter, Emily Casey hit an infield pop up which was caught by Lady Clippers shortstop Lauren Fix, who then threw to the ball to second base in an attempt to double up Fredenburg. But Fix’s throw bounced off the glove of second baseman Linda Gerlach, which enabled Diescher to score the Lady Wildcats’ third run of the inning.
Manor (17-3) maintained its 3-0 lead until the top of the fifth. The first batter of the inning, Stephanie Ryman, hit a groundball to Fredenburg, who fielded the ball cleanly and threw it across the diamond to first baseman Casey. But the ball deflected off the edge of Casey’s glove and Ryman reached base because of the error. After moving to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Race, Ryman scored due to an error by Diescher on a throw to first base after fielding a comebacker by Victoria Fuchs.
But Diescher didn’t let the miscue bother her too much as she got the next batter to hit a line drive right to Fredenburg to end the inning.
The Lady Wildcats scored their final run of the contest in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Calo smacked a triple to right center field. Calo scored seconds later when Babich hit a sacrifice fly.
“It felt really good to get that hit,” Fredenburg said. “It definitely set the bar [high]. Marissa is a great pitcher and to get three runs for her early was good. She was able to do the rest.”
“We played well and we were ready for this game,” Diescher said. “We were confident, not cocky confident, but confident.”
Diescher noted that she felt very good in the circle during the game.
“Everything I was throwing seemed to be working well,” she said.
The win was very rewarding for the Manor players and Co-Coaches Kevin Clifford and Charlie Hicks.
“I am very happy,” Clifford said. “We usually take a while to get hot, but today we started hitting the ball and scoring runs early, which was great.”
“We dealt with any nervousness early on and made some great plays,” Hicks said. “We have one [win] under our belt and we need to go out and play very good softball in the next game.”
Germantown Coach Michael Del Pozzo noted that it was difficult for the Wolverines to prepare for the game because he couldn’t set the team’s pitching machine at a speed high enough to match Diescher’s fastball.
“We’ve faced some hard throwers, but we’ve never faced a Division I hard thrower,” he said. “Two or three at-bats just isn’t enough to get your timing down with a pitcher like that.”
Despite the outcome, Del Pozzo said he was very proud of his team, which was making its second straight appearance in the state Class D final four after a 23-year absence.
“I can’t ask for anything more from my players,” he said. “They gave it their best.”
During the postgame awards ceremony, one player from each team presented with a sportsmanship award. Senior outfielder Sarah Reigel received the award for Manor.