Baseball Drops State Semi Game vs. Livingston

LIVINGSTON—After exchanging early leads, Livingston outlasted Ridgewood to capture the North 1, Group 4 state semifinal match. Thanks to Frankie Schwindel—who drove in four runs on two hits—and Jimmy Napolitano—who nailed down the victory with five key strikeouts—the Lancers beat the Maroons, 7-6 Tuesday. 

"We got lucky today," said Livingston head coach Scott Schroeder after his team committed five errors on the afternoon. "Sure there was some skill involved, but by all accounts we made far too many mistakes to beat a solid team like Ridgewood. Luckily, some guys stepped up for us to help make up for all the errors and mental mistakes."

In the bottom of the fourth, Livingston trailed 3-2, and it looked as if the miscues might end up costing it the game. However, the Lancers found a way to rally—thanks in large part to some big at bats.

Jump-starting the comeback was Napolitano, who lined a bullet over the shortstop to bring Michael Mansfield in to score. One batter later, Schwindel stepped to the plate and delivered a slap to right field—scoring Napolitano and Nick Kozlowsky.

"The pitcher was throwing me a lot of off speed stuff that wasn't finding the plate," Schwindel said. "Finally, with the count at 3-1, I decided that I wasn't going take a walk. So, I just put my bat out there and brought the runners home."

The three-run inning put the Lancers ahead 5-3, but the Maroons were far from finished. Ridgewood responded with a two-run inning of its own, which began with a Doug Licitra double to deep right field scoring Tyler Welence. From there Chris Rota would go on to knot things up at 5-5 with a sac fly to center, bringing home Cooper Byrne.

However, Livingston would quickly reclaim control of the ball game with a clutch two-out rally. After the Maroons retired the Lancers first two hitters, Kozlowsky and Napolitano each reached base, allowing Schwindel another opportunity to drive them home.

Schwindel did not waste anytime taking advantage. The senior jumped all over a first-pitch fastball and sent it deep in to left field for a bases-clearing triple.

"He threw the pitch I was sitting on, and I was able to get some great contact on the ball," Schwindel said.

After Ridgewood scored a run to pull it closer, Livingston made a call to the bullpen to bring in Napolitano. The flame-throwing right-hander would go on to close out the game for the Lancers in impressive fashion by striking out the side in the sixth before tacking on two more Ks in the seventh.

"I was looking to throw strikes and make them make a play on the ball," Napolitano said. "My curve was really working for me, and I think it kept them off balance—for the most part."

The win advances the second-seeded Lancers on to play top-seeded Randolph in the state sectional finals, with the Maroons finishing its impressive season just a little short.