LHS Softball beats Caldwell in the 7th

With the game and their Essex County Tournament fortunes on the line yesterday, Livingston decided to turn to two of their youngest players in Kylie McLaughlin and Sam Rothenberger. Rather than be intimidated by the pressure of the situation, the two freshmen thrived.

Trailing by two entering the bottom of the seventh, McLaughlin's hit cut the deficit in half and would then score the game-winning run on Rothenberger's double as the Lancers came back to beat Caldwell 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the Essex County Tournament.

"That's the key to our program, we include everyone," Livingston head coach Jason Daily said. "When we practice together, we all practice together so they see the pressure that's put on in practice. A senior to me is the same as a freshman. I think a freshman, no matter what, is a part of the program."

"It shows that it's not just the older kids that can do everything and that (Daily) has faith in his freshmen to come through for the team and win," said Rothenberger.

Fourth-seeded Livingston (14-7-1) started their comeback with one out when Reid Singer reached base on an error and Jess Icolari was hit by a pitch, bringing the potential winning run to the plate. Daily then decided to turn to McLaughlin to pinch hit. The lefty justified Daily's faith when she slapped a single past the infield to make it a one-run game.

A perfectly placed sacrifice bunt from Jazmine Pignatello advanced the runners to second and third, setting the stage for Rothenberger. The centerfielder then delivered her second extra base hit in as many innings as Rothenberger crushed a Brittany Trivino pitch over the center fielder's head to clear the bases and send the Lancers back into the semifinals for the second-straight season.

"I just saw the ball coming, swung and just hoped for the best," Rothenberger said.

"We pulled it together in the seventh inning and really battled," said Livingston pitcher Jess Peslak. "We've had a lot of seventh-inning wins this season."

One inning earlier, Rothenberger was responsible for the Lancers' first run of the game as she led off the sixth with a triple and then scored on an attempted double-steal.

Up until that point, Trivino had used an array of breaking pitches to silence and frustrate the Livingston offense. She retired nine of the first 10 Lancer hitters and kept them off the scoreboard for five innings.

"She had a lot of movement that we finally got used to at the end of the game," said Rothenberger. "She got to us and then at the end we just finally started hitting her and seeing the ball better."

"She had an off-speed drop that was really hard for me to hit at least," Peslak said. "And we were popping it up a lot."

While Trivino (who allowed just one earned run and seven hits) used changing speeds to get outs, Peslak was able to overpower the bats of fifth-seeded Caldwell (12-7). Peslak used her fastball to strike out the side in the second and third innings. The sophomore would finish with 13 strikeouts, while allowing seven hits and two walks. Two of those strikeouts came in the fifth inning, allowing Peslak to get out of a bases-loaded, nobody out jam with only one run scoring.

Gabby Roselle tripled to left off of Peslak to give the Chiefs a 1-0 in the third. Roselle would strike again, with a run-scoring single in the seventh for her third hit of the game.

First baseman Alex Pizzoli was 2-for-2 with a walk for Livingston in the win.

With the victory the Lancers advance to face top-seeded Nutley in the semifinals. The semifinals matchup is scheduled for Friday 8 p.m. at Ivy Hill Park in Newark.