Sullivan County Women’s Softball League

Mr. Willy’s victimized by Cooper Paintball

Bevy of hits and the long ball blanks Mr. Willy’s

By RICHARD A. ROSS

SWAN LAKE, NY — When it comes to talent, Cooper Paint is blessed with plenty. Returning with the same team that buzzed through last season with a record 25-0, the tie-dyed ladies made short work of a good team from Mr. Willy’s on June 14.

They did it with their bats and good fielding, exemplified by Erin Shuart’s diving catch to end the first inning and great plays in short center by Rocky Irwin.

Stung by their A-Division playoff defeat last year to Charlie’s Angels, Cooper Paint seems focused on making it clear that they are a strong contender. The way they see it, their regular season championship last year was tarnished by their two-out-of-three loss in the playoffs.

Mr. Willy’s got swings off of Cooper Paint pitcher Natalie Cillis and sprayed a bunch of singles into the huge outfield. Unfortunately, they could never string enough together to get a run across. Cindy LaRuffa went three-for-three for Mr. Willy’s and Vanessa Meyer had a pair of hits as well.

As for Cooper Paint, their scoring began in the first when Amanda Irwin drove in Amanda Cox with a towering double to deep right. With the leftfielder playing to the extreme depths of the outfield, the slugger drove the ball to the opposite field.

Irwin, a feared hitter, sent nine balls over the fence in Collins Park last year. On this night, she went four-for-four and drove in five runs.

Cooper’s one-zip lead widened with a two-run single by Leyna Madison in the second inning. A five-run third, fueled by a two-run homer by Cox and an RBI double by Lori Brown, headed the game toward the possibility of being foreshortened by the 15-run rule. A team that is leading by that margin after five innings wins the game.

That turned out to be the case as Cooper Paint added two runs in the fourth and five more in the sixth.

In the final frame, Cooper Paint got runs from the bats of Cox, Amanda Irwin who added another two RBI, Ally McCarthy who hit triple in the gap and Lori Brown’s game- ending single.

Cooper Paint improved to 5-0. Mr. Willy’s record fell to 3-2. Their only prior loss was a close one to L+B Tack. They also defeated ICC, Nugget and Dutchess.

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