Cosenzo, Hanover Park top Crimson

MORRISTOWN – Third baseman Alex Cosenzo hit a three-run home run and the Hanover Park softball team held off Morristown-Beard 9-5 in nine innings in a NJAC-Liberty matchup on Tuesday.

With the game tied 4-4 in the top of the ninth junior center fielder Nicole Rothenberger drew a leadoff walk and senior Patricia Gilroy singled. With one out Cosenzo laced a shot over the right field fence to put the Hornets (1-1) ahead 7-4.

“It felt really clutch, I just try honestly when I’m there I just think I have to get a single, and then whatever outcome it is, I’ll take it,” Cosenzo said.

Freshman second baseman Amy Petrovich followed with a double to right and freshman pitcher Jessica Miller doubled to center, which scored Petrovich for an 8-4 lead. Sophomore first baseman Maddie McLaughlin kept it going with a single, which scored Miller and put Hanover Park up 9-4.

Senior second baseman Lindsay Reeth led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to center for the Crimson (0-2) and advanced to second on a passed ball. With two outs junior Sara Seuffert hit a pop fly that dropped just fair behind third base, which scored Reeth to cut the lead to 9-5, but Miller picked up her ninth strike out to end the game.

“I think we were just mainly focusing on hitting singles and just trying to get on base and work together as a team and not try and get that all-around huge hit,” Hanover Park junior shortstop Nicole Petrovich said of the comeback. “I think we overall worked together as a team and just picked each other up and kept hitting one after the other, and it was just all the combined hits together.”

Hanover Park scored a run in the top of the third on a double to right by Cosenzo for a 1-0 lead, and the Hornets added to it in the top of the fifth when senior designated player Nicole Brokaw was walked in.

In the the bottom of the inning Morristown-Beard senior first baseman Hannah Guenther led off with a double to right and with one out senior center fielder Christina D’Alessandro picked up an infield single. With runners at first and third Reeth doubled to left which scored Guenther to cut the Hornets’ lead to 2-1.

With two outs freshman right fielder Katie Wright laced a two-run single into right field to put the Crimson ahead 3-2. Seuffert followed with a single to left but advanced to third on an error, which scored Wright for the 4-2 advantage.

In the top of the sixth the Hornets answered back. With one out catcher Nikkiann Giaimo reached second base on an error and scored on an infield single by Rothenberger. Rothenberger then came home on a single to right by Nicole Petrovich for a 4-4 tie.

“I thought they did great, I don’t think we ever gave up,” Hanover Park coach Alexis Davies said. “We had a couple of things not go our way and that’s what we’re trying to make them understand, that things go wrong a lot in this game and you have to be able to come back and I thought we did.”

Hanover Park was close to scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh, but with two outs and Cosenzo on third, senior Gabby Dominguez flied out to Crimson right fielder Sam Salazar who threw home to get Cosenzo at the plate. In the bottom of the eighth Morristown-Beard managed to load the bases on an error, a sac bunt and a couple of walks with one out, but Miller got two strikeouts to end the threat and the inning.

“I’m proud of the effort, I thought Jess did great,” Davies said. “One of the benefits of practicing inside is that we worked a lot on pitch outs and those kind of circumstances so we were able to execute that, I thought that was big to get out of that inning.”

Miller, who picked up her first varsity win, allowed five runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out nine in nine innings. She had a perfect game going through three innings before junior third baseman Nicole Robertson singled in the bottom of the fourth.

For the Crimson, junior Lauren Conway allowed four runs on six hits, walked five and struck out five in seven innings. Seuffert came on in the top of the eighth and allowed five runs on four hits, walked one and struck out four.

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: 973-428-6674; lknego@gannett.com