Softball

Tribe triumph

Liberty gets its first win by downing sputtering Monticello

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MONGAUP VALLEY, NY - There was bound to be some good news for either the Liberty or Monticello softball team on May 2. One of them was going to emerge with a much-needed win that could provide the tonic for seasons that were quickly sliding backwards.

Liberty, in particular, seemed to have the worst of it. Following a gritty opener against Cornwall, where the tribe held their own for a quartet of innings before the dam broke for a 15-0 loss, Liberty went on a five-game losing streak and succumbed to the 15-run rule in four of those outings.

The latest massacre came the day prior to the Monticello match up to the tune of a 23-4 bashing at the hands of struggling Ellenville. That miasma sent shivers down the spines of Liberty coach Maggie Novello and her able assistant, Adam Ramirez. How long could this go on before the team literally gave up?

What the Indians needed more than anything was a win. And it didn’t have to be pretty. Liberty would take it anyway they could, but it was going to have to start by getting a good outing from its pitchers.

For its own part, Monticello was in dire straits. After letting a potential seventh-inning victory against Sullivan West vanish in a heart-rending defeat the day before, the Lady Panthers came to Collins Park convinced that they could turn things around against a Liberty team they knew had been struggling. Through their first six games, all they had to show for their efforts was a win against Eldred in the Tri-Valley tournament.

Using the pitching machine to level their swing and hitting, the Lady Panthers worked on their timing. As it turned out, the machine was poor preparation for Liberty junior Sam Panagakos’ style.

From the outset, it was clear that Monticello was over swinging against the steady pitcher who was getting the ball over the plate without that much pepper on it.

Following a day of playing catch up to Sullivan West’s Sarah Lander, Monticello batters, especially in the middle of the order, couldn’t find their stroke.

Monticello coach Ed Kaufmann sent junior Jessica Simpson back to the mound following her effective outing against the Lady Bulldogs the day before. Bedecked in a hairstyle that featured a rainbow of colors to celebrate Hair and Makeup day at Monticello High School, Simpson was a sight to behold in the glorious sunshine.

The day prior, Simpson had tossed five shut-out innings, after getting touched up for a quartet of runs in the early going.

She began this outing against Liberty showing the same good form with a one-two-three ousting of the Tribe.

Monticello got a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double by Ashley Mangabang. But with two ducks on the pond, Monticello went quietly, as Panagakos notched a pair of strikeouts to end the inning.

Leaving runners on base would prove costly as the day wore on. In all, eight Lady Panthers were left stranded and many of them were in scoring position as Liberty wriggled out of trouble inning after inning.

Kaufmann, a veteran of more of these wars than he cares to remember, smelled something ill in the wind. “We’re flat,” he told his team. He’d have more to say before this one was over.

Simpson put up another zero in the second by pitching around a leadoff single to sophomore Ceara Williams, but her teammates squandered another chance to pile it on in their half of the inning

Amanda Snyder’s leadoff walk set the table and things looked promising as she stole second. A walk to Meghan Hughes sweetened the Panther pot as Hughes moved up to third on a fielder’s choice, Katy Gonzalez singled in what would be the inning’s only run despite the fact that Jaclyn Bunce worked out one of her three walks on the day to load the bases.

Panagakos benefited from left fielder Rebecca Ramirzez’s great catch of a well-hit ball by Nicole Accomando. Panagakos then induced a ground out to end the inning. Monticello led 2-0, but Kaufmann was clearly not happy with his team’s inability to put the hammer down.

His fears were justified.

In the top of the third, Liberty tied the game. A one-out single by Katie Baker got the party started. Kirsten Sauer got a base hit and the Indians had something going. A passed ball moved the runners up and a walk to Panagakos loaded the bases with one out. The first run scored off the bat of senior Brittany Melchick, who reached on an E-6. Liberty got its second run before a 1-3-6 double play ended the inning.

Simpson would pitch one more scoreless inning before giving way to Chelsea Reuss.

Panagakos, meanwhile, held sway for five and a third innings before handing the ball over to Williams, whose agenda was simply to throw strikes and let her defense work behind her.

Although the two Liberty pitchers issued five walks between them, Monticello couldn’t capitalize on the free passes. Four hits was all they mustered, which was simply not enough fire power to garner a win.

Liberty had five hits on the day, but they managed to assume the lead in the sixth with a pair of runs.

Trouble began for Monticello on an E-3 following a little squibbler in front of the plate. Reuss came on to pitch, but promptly yielded a single to sophomore Kristen Sarno.

That put runners on the corner for Ramirez, who banged home a run with a base hit. Panagakos hit a sac fly for the Tribe’s fourth run before Reuss extinguished the fire.

Monticello had two more innings to get a blaze going but they couldn’t get the spark they needed to ignite it.

They left a runner stranded in the sixth, and couldn’t parlay a leadoff single by Bunce in the seventh into anything more than one run, despite having the heart of their order at bat.

Maria Pavese knocked in Bunce with a two-out single but a final fly out, the third of the inning, gave Liberty (1-5) the win they desperately sought. Monticello fell to 1-6 as they gathered around their coach for a post-game analysis to hear what they already knew: they had let another one get away.

Novello was excited about the long sought-after victory. “I didn’t set a lot of goals for today, just some attainable ones,” she said.

Novello wanted her fielders to hustle and get after the ball. She implored her outfielders to get down on one knee to prevent the ball from getting by them and she encouraged her infielders to make good throws. She expected her bench to be vocal and supportive.

Novello was delighted with the pitching. “I thought Sammy looked like she was going out in the third inning, but she gave us two and a half more innings. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” the coach added.

As for Williams’ performance, Novello said, “Ceara came in and threw the ball over the plate and let our defense do their jobs.”

“We’re going to try and focus on the positives now,” said Novello, as she looked forward to the rest of the season.

Defeats are never easy to accept, but this one stung Kaufmann particularly hard.

He felt that his team should have been able to get better swings against Liberty’s pitching. “We’re handling the ball better in the field, but we’re not getting the production out of our number three, four and five batters,” Kaufmann said. The experience factor of not being able to adjust to the changing speed of pitching from one day to the next was something Kaufmann felt was preventing his team from getting its season going.

What frustrates Kaufmann is that even his most experienced hitters, girls that have been with him for several years, are popping the ball up instead of hitting it down and hard. The younger batters are struggling with laying down bunts and moving up runners. For Kaufmann, though, the needed improvement will have to come from games, not just practice.

Challenges continued for Monticello when it came up short against John S. Burke 14-0 on May 4. Next up for the Lady Panthers was a scheduled rematch with Sullivan West on May 9.

Liberty faces daunting challenges in scheduled games against Port Jervis and Goshen.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of Liberty-Monticello photos.