Sports
Liss Enjoying Solid Season for Lady Highlanders
Penn State-bound third baseman helped team to UCT crown.
Despite being a main part of last year’s sectional championship winning team, Gov. Livingston’s McKenzie Liss still wasn’t fulfilled.
“We had a tough loss in the county final last year,” said Liss, a senior third baseman. “And we weren’t about to let that happen again. We were determined to win it this year.”
And with Liss playing a big part, Gov. Livingston did just that, winning the Union County Tournament title for the first time in 10 years. Liss was 1-for-4 with an RBI double on Saturday, May 21 to help top-seeded Gov. Livingston to an 8-1 victory over seventh-seeded Westfield at Cougar Field at Kean University in Union.
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A year ago, Gov. Livingston dropped a 5-4 decision to Cranford in the county final – also at Kean.
“We wanted to come out strong this year and make a statement,” Liss said. “Winning the UCT was definitely one of our goals.”
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Gov. Livingston (22-2) won its 15th straight game on Tuesday, defeating Summit, 10-0, in a NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 first round game. They will host Raritan in a sectional quarterfinal on Thursday, May 26.
Liss, who was an All-Union First Team selection for The Star-Ledger last year, is batting .430 with 32 hits, 17 RBI and 20 runs this season.
Liss, who was the Lady Highlanders starting catcher the last two years, moved to third base this season in preparation for her college career next fall at Penn State.
“I’m not going to be able to catch next year at Penn State so the coaches there wanted me to get playing time at another position,” said Liss. “Jenna (Kulback) has done a great job catching this year.”
After losing to Cranford in the UCT final last May, Gov. Livingston won the Central Jersey, Group 2 title. And Liss thinks a repeat performance might be in the cards.
“We have momentum going now and we want to keep playing as well as we can,” said Liss. “I think we have the talent to win it again.”
Liss batted .437 with 33 RBI as a sophomore and hit .432 with 38 hits and 22 RBI last year.
“Mckenzie is a real solid player with a very strong arm,” said Gov. Livingston skipper Rick Iacono. “She’s been very consistent for us and has a very good on-base percentage. I thought the move to third might cost us, but that hasn’t been the case. Jenna has done a real good job behind the plate and McKenzie has had a strong season at third.”
