Sullivan County Women’s Softball League

All-stars shine in a league of their own

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MONGAUP VALLEY, NY — Present and accounted for at the Sullivan County Women’s Softball League All Star game on July 30 were good times, smiles, high fives, hugs, beer, plenty of good hits, fine base-running, excellent fielding and great sportsmanship.

Reminiscent of the film, “A League of Their Own,” starring Rosie O’Donnell, Gena Davis and Madonna, the women who comprise this league have something special and unique that sets them apart from oft-male dominated world of sports. They have sisterhood. This is their domain and it is evident from their faces and body language that heaven is a place called Collins Park. It’s been that way for upward of 20 years.

The game was preceded by the National Anthem as Taylor Stoddard, Reia, Lila and Dara Schiff, along with Nicole Beach, held the American flag and the league’s banner. “The bombs bursting in air,” were soon to come in the form of solid hitting from the league’s best.

As the two teams got ready to take the field for this year’s All-Star game, the atmosphere was one of unadulterated fun.

Fun is one thing, but these ladies play hard.

Diane Gonzalez (Cooper Paints) of the B squad smacked a two-run homer in her first at bat that traveled a country mile and capped off a four-run first inning for the red shirts. Liz Stubitz (L+ B Tack), Lori Brown (L+ B) and Allison Whipple (New Hope) had set the table with a single, rbi-double and rbi-single before her. The scoring answered the A Team’s two run first brought on by Cris Lopez (Combined Energy Services) reaching on an error, and subsequent singles by Barb Stubits (L+B), Jule Potosek (L+B) and Jen Cole (Mr. Willy’s). Lori Froehlich walked to help the inning continue.

After holding the A squad scoreless in the second inning, the B Team sent batter after batter to the plate tallying eight runs. They took a 12-2 lead behind great hitting begun by Erin Brown’s triple (Nugget), and a seemingly endless series of singles, including those by Charish Priest (H+C Sports), Deb Noecker (Nugget), Lori Perry (L+B), Liz Stubits, Brown and Whipple.

Things looked even more one-sided after three innings when the B Team scored four more runs to give themselves a commanding 16-2 lead. Veterans of women’s softball will tell you that no lead is safe, especially when it comes to games between All-Stars. The A Team rallied in the top of the fourth with seven runs. A Team pitcher Lisa Laurence limited the B Team to only two more runs while her team came back with another seven in the last inning rallying to within two runs of the B squad but failing to score the go-ahead runs with bases loaded in the ninth.

Originally the game was supposed to be seven innings but the ladies were having too much fun to quit. Crowd excitement rose dramatically when Amanda (Killa) Irwin came in to pinch hit for the B Team. Irwin, known for her powerful home run capabilities, harmlessly popped out after swinging at a high first pitch. She heard it from her adoring but merciless fans. A subsequent error by the former Livingston Manor standout at third base drew even more barbs from the unflappable crowd.

When the dust settled after the long evening of fun, the B Team held on to win 18-16.

After years of passing by Collins Park in the summer, this sportswriter was hooked.

While I loved the movie of “A League of Their Own,” I have to admit the real life version was a thousand times better. Tune in this week for the upcoming playoffs.

CES out-slugs Mr. Willy’s

In what amounted to a rubber game between first and second place teams in the B Division of the Sullivan County Women’s Softball League, CES knocked off division leader Mr. Willy’s on July 29 by the score of 14-9. The two teams split their first two games this season. Nakomi Thompson helped CES get out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning with a triple. CES went on to score four more runs in the second to take a commanding 7-0 lead.

Mr. Willy’s came into the game sporting a hefty 18-2 record. The two losses came against undefeated A Division leaders Charlie’s Angels and CES, who entered the game with a record of 14-4.

In the fourth inning, Mr. Willy’s began to shake things up. Vanessa Meyer drove in a run with a double. After two more singles by Mr. Willy’s players, Meyer’s mom, Diane, hit an infield single that drove in another run and put runners at the corners.

CES came right back in the bottom of the inning to get those runs back. Annie Puelo led off with a single followed by a single by Chris Klein. Klein never stopped running and made it to second. Chris Stant followed with a double. Jill Hubert Simon knocked in another run with a single as did Barbara Ward Blank.

CES poured it on with a double from Thompson. Cheryl Scheerer reached on an error. After Chris Gomez flied out to end the inning, the score stood at 12-3 in favor of CES.

CES added an additional two runs in the sixth inning but Mr. Willy’s came roaring back in the seventh. Meghan Sheely drove in two runs to bring Mr. Willy’s closer at 14-8. With bases loaded and nobody out, Lisa Dowley hit into a 5-4-3 double play. Vanessa Meyer’s triple plated the final run for Mr. Willy’s as Tammy Chaboty grounded out to end the game.

Undefeated Charlie’s Angels caps off regular season with rout of L+B Tack

Featuring a Team that includes veterans of many prior season campaigns, Charlie’s Angels once again showed why they are the team to beat (we dare you!) in Sullivan County Women’s Softball.

Coming into this game at 18-0, the Angels put up four runs in the top of the first inning capitalizing on an error that put Anna Tesseyman at first with one out and a subsequent single by Leanne Mangobang followed by successive doubles from Tonya Ackerly and Lisa Krom (rbi). Karen Fischer’s hit plated three runs and the Angels were soaring upward and onward.

L+B came back with one run in the bottom of the inning, but the night belonged to Charlie’s Angels. By the fifth inning an unending barrage of hits had netted the league leaders the requisite 15-run advantage to give them the game-shortened win over L+B who managed to score a scant three against Krom’s dominant pitching and the extraordinary defense behind up.