Women's softball

Nugget puts up a fight but Dutch’s prevails

Dutch’s six-run fourth inning proves to be the difference

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MONGAUP VALLEY, NY - While most teams will freely admit that the A Division of Sullivan County Women’s Softball is presided over by Charlie’s Angels and Cooper Paint, that doesn’t mean that the other teams don’t come out and give it their all each and every game.

For Dutch’s Bar/T&C Tanning, a loss to each of those two teams constitutes the team’s only defeats in their otherwise perfect season. For coach Matt Forman and his up-and-coming team, the agenda is to win as many games as possible. They figure there will be time to reckon with the two top teams down the line, hopefully in the playoffs.

On July 3, the immediate goal was to take on a feisty Nugget team, whose record hardly reflected their drive or their ability. While Dutch’s came in at 6-2, Nugget has struggled to date with the reverse record of 2-6. Moving up to the A division, after their successful 2005 run in the B division, has made things more difficult for Nugget, but you’d never know it by their attitude.

With both teams decked out in red, the field was a blur of bright jerseys. Nugget got up first to take their swings against Dutch’s pitcher Lisa Benjamin. Nugget got a run in the first as quick-footed Rebecca Sykes came around to score when Kendra Harris reached on an E-3.

But Dutch’s showed their fine defense early and often. Clearly, it has been one of the benchmarks of their success thus far.

Dutch’s came back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame by putting together four singles off Nugget pitcher Ro Steuber. Theresa Noetzel drove in the first run after Benjamin got on to load the bases. Amy Bruderman plated another run with a sac fly.

Nugget tied it up in the second as Amanda Davis and Steuber got on with singles and Karen Warden drove in a run with a fielder’s choice.

Dutch’s went scoreless in the bottom of the second as did both teams in the third.

Nugget continued to work hard and got a two-run lead in the top of the fourth. Linnea O’Mara and Kim Jay singled. The first run came in when Davis hit into a fielder’s choice before Warden had her second RBI of the night with a single.

Holding leads against hard-hitting teams like Dutch’s requires solid fielding. As hard as Dutch’s batters were hitting the ball, many grounders skipped through the infield or dropped in during a six-run fourth inning outburst.

The fireworks began with five consecutive singles by Benjamin, Bruderman, Shannon Holland, Kim Bradley and Ashley Matthews. By the time Nugget got the first out of the inning, two runs were already in. Another scored when Justine Artis grounded to second and Candie (aka IE) Lake iced the inning with a single, which gave Dutch’s an 8-4 lead.

Some teams might have been beaten down by such a rally, but Nugget fought right back with a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Credit Sykes with an RBI in the fifth and Stef Kellam and Warden with driving in runs in the sixth.

Dutch’s answered back by scoring two in the sixth as well. RBI came courtesy of Tini Keller and Lake.

Nugget failed to score in the seventh and Dutch’s recorded the 10-7 win. Their record improved to 7-2 while Nugget fell to 2-7.

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