Complete effort for Long Beach

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Long Beach plated runs in five of seven innings, including a six spot in the top of the fifth, in a 14-3 softball victory at Plainview-JFK on April 10 to break a two-game slide.

Senior Nicole Grandinetti knocked in three runs and junior Katie Frisch homered to open the fifth as the Lady Marines evened their Conference AA-II mark at 2-2. Junior pitcher Jillian Domingo went 5 1/3 innings to earn the win, striking out three in the process.

“It was a good win,” Long Beach coach Carmine Verde said. “We put the whole package together. We pitched well, played good defense and hit.”

The Lady Marines took a big step a day later, scoring six runs in the top of the first on the way to an 11-5 win at Oceanside. Grandinetti homered and winning pitcher Alex Hastings, a freshman, had two hits in the first.

Against Plainview, Verde’s club never looked back after scoring twice in the top of the second. Sophomore catcher Lainie Kassap tripled and scored on an error for a 1-1 tie, then Grandinetti (2-for-5) singled home sophomore Kaitlin Erickson for a 2-1 lead.

More run support for Domingo came in the third. She helped her own cause with a single and advanced to third on a double off the bat of Frisch. Both scored on a Kassap single for a 4-1 lead.

It was 4-2 in the fifth when Long Beach put the game out of reach. Frisch blasted a pitch over the fence in left-center to make it 5-2 and “jump-started the whole inning,” Verde said. Grandinetti drove in Kassap and senior Megan Korotz for a 7-2 lead. Senior designated hitter Samantha Kassap and Domingo also drove in runs with singles.

“Nicole has really stepped up her game and also taken on some leadership responsibilities,” Verde said of Grandinetti, who plays first base.

Domingo, who’s batting in the leadoff spot and playing left field when she’s not pitching, worked into the sixth before she was lifted after 96 pitches. “She had a strong outing,” Verde said. “She had good command and was hitting her spots. She’s given us a solid five innings every time.”

Quigley, recently promoted to the varsity roster to play second base and give Long Beach a third option in the pitching circle, recorded the final five outs including a 1-2-3 bottom-of-the-seventh. “We used Abby in two scrimmages early in the season to get her some experience against varsity hitters,” Verde said.

Hastings, who contributes in left field and second base, was the winning pitcher in Long Beach’s first conference victory, a 16-6 blowout at Baldwin on March 29. She didn’t allow a run until the fourth inning and had a three-run lead before stepping into the circle. Frisch, Domingo and Erickson all homered for the Lady Marines, who scored six times in the fifth and added five more runs in the sixth. Frisch had three RBIs and Domingo and Samantha Kassap added two apiece.