By Rob Potter
LIVINGSTON MANOR — The Livingston Manor Lady Wildcats earned a trip to the Section IX Class D softball championship game with an 11-0 victory Thursday afternoon against The Family School.
No. 2 seed Manor used a nine-run inning to break open what had been a close semifinal game.
Entering the bottom of the third, the Lady Wildcats held a 1-0 advantage after Marina Zayas scored from third base on a successful double steal play the previous frame.
Manor’s Marissa Diescher and Jessie Simmons began the third with back-to-back singles and both scored when Tina Babich ripped a double to center field.
Zayas hit a single to score both Babich and Megan Ellison push the Manor (15-3) lead to 5-0.
Brittnie Fredenburg scored on a fielder’s choice and Zayas crossed the plate on a single by Emily Casey.
After the first out of the inning was recorded, Diescher belted a two-run homer over the fence in left center field to make it a 10-0 game. The blast, which went an estimated 250 feet, was only the second home run hit beyond the outfield fence at the Manor softball field. The first was hit by Amanda Irwin, a member of the Manor Class of 2001, who is now an Assistant Coach for the Lady Wildcats.
Diescher recorded 14 strikeouts to earn the victory. She gave up three hits and walked one batter.
“We really hit the ball well today,” Manor Co-Coach Kevin Clifford said.
Claire Meehan, Mary Schmieder and Denise Tagariello each had a hit for The Family School (4-14), which was the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
“They got the hits when they needed to,” Family School Coach Missy Dunlap said of the Lady Wildcats.
Dunlap noted that only two of the Lady Falcon starters in the game – pitcher Tagariello and left fielder Claire Vagnone – are expected to return for next season.