Lindsay Taylor and Kings Park have become intimately familiar with no-hitters. After all, the Lady Kingsmen's ace hurled nearly a dozen of them over her five-year career.
However in the state finals on Saturday afternoon, the girls found themselves on the wrong end of Brittany Grage's no-hitter, falling 1-0 to Pittsford Mendon in the Class A state finals.
Grage struck out 12, including Lindsay Taylor for the game's final out, allowing just one baserunner on a hit batsmen.
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Despite coming up short in their final game, the season was still historic for Kings Park (24-3). After winning their first Class A Suffolk County and Long Island titles, they advanced to the championship game by taking out South Glens Falls, New York state's top-ranked team, 6-1 on Saturday morning.
Paige Julich rocked a grand slam in the first inning to give Taylor more than enough run support. The Kings Park pitcher did the rest, striking out eight and allowing one run on two hits and a walk.
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The Lady Kingsmen will graduate their first three hitters from this year's team, including Taylor, who will resume her career at Syracuse University. They will also lose Jessica LoBianco (SUNY Binghamton) and Nicole Brieva (SUNY Oneonta) to graduation.
Replacing a talent like Taylor is nearly impossible, but the future looks bright for Kings Park. Julich, Ariana Ambrosio and Reina and Nicole Torlincasi will headline a team that will look to defend the school's first Long Island championship next Spring.
