Taylor's clutch hit gives Kings Park softball win

When Lindsay Taylor stepped to the plate Thursday in the bottom of the eighth inning, she thought of how the "pitchers duel," Kings Park's senior day and the overall game hadn't quite turned out the way she'd imagined.

Kings Park had taken a two-run lead into the seventh inning, but Hauppauge leveled two consecutive two-out RBI hits against Taylor to tie the score, and scored a third run on an error in the top of the eighth to take the advantage. Hauppauge hurler Nicole Ehlinger retired the first two Kingsmen batters in the eighth, and the game looked over.

"I didn't want to see them celebrating on our field, and I didn't want to make the last out," Taylor said. "And then I hit it and I knew it was gone."

Taylor hit a low, inside pitch over the wall in left to tie the score and was part of a mob at home plate moments later as Marissa Armocida's single scored Jessica Julich to give Kings Park a 4-3 win.

"She waited on it, shortened up her bat and went for it," Kings Park coach Kim McGinley said of Taylor's home run, her sixth of the year. "All I kept saying was, 'go over, go over!' "

Taylor struck out 13, allowing seven hits, two walks and three runs (two earned). Ehlinger allowed four runs (two earned), nine hits and one walk, striking out five.

The game was a marquee matchup in the penultimate contest of the regular season. Kings Park (16-1) and Hauppauge (15-2) came in with identical records atop Suffolk League V, largely on the strength of dominant seasons from Taylor and Ehlinger. Kings Park's loss was against Hauppauge on April 12, a 3-2 affair in which Hauppauge scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.

SEE PHOTOSKings Park 4, Hauppauge 3

Basically, the Class A No. 1 seed came down to this game.

Kings Park broke through for single runs in the third and fifth innings, scoring both on errors. "I think the plays we've been making for the majority of the year we just weren't making today," Hauppauge coach Jim McGowan said.

After Julia McNeill singled to start the seventh, Taylor retired the next two hitters before Sandy Hawthorne's double brought Hauppauge within a run.

Taylor took the next hitter, Devan Valoroso, to a 1-and-2 count before the rightfielder rifled a pitch to left-center. The throw to the plate was on the money, but it got past the catcher, allowing Hawthorne to score the tying run.

SEE PHOTOSHigh school sports -- May

Heather Drago led off the top of the eighth with a double to center, scoring on a two-out error to momentarily give Hauppauge a 3-2 lead.

"It's a tough loss," McGowan said. "But there's really no better way to decide the seeds than this kind of game."