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Laney Vomero's two-run double gives Miller Pace lead in win over Kings Park in Suffolk Class A softball final - Newsday

Published 2 weeks ago3 minute read

Laney Vomero stood on second base, put both hands in the air and shouted to the Miller Place dugout, “Let’s go!”

The junior had just lined a two-out, two-run double off the fence in right-centerfield to give the top-seeded Panthers some breathing room in their 7-0 win over No. 4 Kings Park in the Suffolk Class A softball final on Saturday at Martha Avenue Park.

The swing gave Miller Place a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth. In her previous at-bat, Vomero popped out with two runners on to end the second inning.

“I had a little bit of a rough start to the game, but my teammates were telling my to get out of my own head and stay in the game,” Vomero. “My team has faith in me, I’ve got to have faith in myself.”

It’s the Panthers’ second straight county title and third overall. Miller Place (21-2) will face the winner of Seaford/Mineola in the Long Island championship/Regional semifinal at 4 p.m. on Thursday at Farmingdale State.

Evelyn Paul got Miller Place on a board with a leadoff home run to left in the second.

“I was so nervous walking up to the plate because we had no runs, it was a 0-0 game,” Paul said. “It’s so stressful when you’re walking up and you’re like, ‘I have to do this. It doesn’t have to be a home run, it just has to be a good hit.’ It felt so good.”

Said coach Matt Timmons, “It’s really good to have someone in the six-hole popping one out in a big spot to get the pressure off.”

Ava Zicchinelli went 3-for-4 with two runs and struck out 11 in a complete game three-hit shutout.

The senior was struck in her pitching hand by a line drive off the bat of Emma Lombardi with one out in the seventh. She remained in the circle and struck out the next two batters to end the game.

“I wanted to finish the game. I’m not gonna come out and (coach Matt) Timmons knows that,” Zicchinelli said. “When my first warmup pitch went into the ground, I was a little worried. But you’ve just got to push through it.”

Lombardi went 2-for-3 for Kings Park, which finished 17-8.

Schleider went 2-for-4 and Emily Lopez went 1-for-2 with two walks and a run for the Panthers, who returned their entire team from last season’s run to the state final.

“We’ve done a really good job of taking it game by game and not just expecting to be here,” Zicchinelli said. “We worked really hard to get here and we’re not done yet.”

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