Livingston Strikes Out MKA

LIVINGSTON — On Friday afternoon, when the Lancers softball team squared off against Montclair Kimberley Academy, the team was looking to add another win before the close of the season, which ends next week.

That's what they got when they blanked Montclair Kimberley 3-0.  Jessica Peslak, who has been very impressive in her freshman season, took the hill for Livingston (12-12-0). Her opposing pitcher was Andrea Huelsenbeck.

Peslak started the game similarly to her past starts when set down the first two batters via the strike out. She then proceeded to get the number-three hitter, Huelsenbeck, to ground out for the third out.

In the next half inning, Huelsenbeck  quickly retired the first two Livingston batters. Without a runner on base, Peslak looked to help herself and team by belting a double into the outfield. The Lancers weren't able to capitalize on it, though, as the next batter grounded out in the infield to end the inning.

Both pitchers held the opposition scoreless in the second inning. But in the bottom of the third, Livingston's bats started to work some magic.

Infielder Carly LaGrotta started the hits with a line drive single. Pitcher Jessica Peslak followed up with an RBI single into right field, which  gave her a one run lead. Montclair Kimberley tried to get a rally started in the fourth when Adriana Calandra hit what appeared to be an infield single after first baseman Jessica Pizzoli, who was playing in place of Melissa Pence, came off the bag. But Calandra was called out, much to the displeasure of the Montclair Kimberley fans in attendance.

The next MKA batter, Jess Stokik, hit a single through the left side of the infield, but no one was able to drive her in, so she was stranded at first base. The Lancers later tacked on a second run in the bottom of the inning to increase their lead to 2-0.

The fifth inning saw the first of two spectacular defensive plays by Livingston's Amy Zhou. First, Zhou made an impressive stop of a hard hit ball to prevent a Montclair Kimberley hitter from taking extra bases.

In the sixth inning, with two outs and a runner on third base, Zhou set out again to make a diving stop and prevented the run from scoring. This enabled Peslak to get the final out of the inning and preserve her shutout.

The bottom of the inning saw the Lancers score an insurance run by way of an RBI single from outifelder, Reid Singer, who drove in Alex Bell. This put the Lancers up by a score of 3-0.

After allowing a lead-off double to Ashley Bishop, Jessica Peslak closed the door in the seventh inning by setting down the next three hitters in order and helping the Lancers net their 13th win of the season. Peslak finished the game with an impressive total of eight strike outs.

Next week, the Lancers will look to wrap up their season with a home game against Bloomfield and a rematch against Montclair Kimberley Academy (2-17-0) on the road.