GRAHAMSVILLE, NY — Change is a part of life and as the years come and go, we witness the passing of people, places and things we once considered familiar mainstays of our landscape. But for all of these passages, there are some seemingly timeless constants. One of them is America’s affinity for the drama enacted on softball diamonds in virtually every hamlet, town and city across the nation.

Integral parts of that bucolic landscape are the men and women in blue who umpire the games. Those arbiters of balls and strikes who also decry players as safe or out, deliver their judgments in an attempt to keep the game fair and safe. While not all fans see things the way they do, everyone knows that the game could not be played without them. In local lore, no umpire was more well known or beloved than the late Benny Chesnick. From the time Chesnick was just a young lad, the ball diamond was where you’d find him, first as a player and then later as an umpire. Softball became the mainstay of his existence. For the latter 45 years of his 80-year earthly tenure, he stood behind the plate or on the base paths, a timeless presence that endeared him to the community. He was a wellspring of great stories too, a walking repository of local diamond history. Though Chesnick is gone, the game that defined his life remains immortal.

In his honor a few years back, the Sullivan County Softball Officials named their tournament for him. This year marked the fourth year of the Benny Chesnick Memorial Tournament and the fourth consecutive year that Livingston Manor claimed the Chesnick title. The two-time defending Class D state champions are off to a 3-1 start in the post-Marissa Diescher era. The iconic hurler now works her magic at Penn State where she recently hurled a no-hitter, something she did 27 times in high school, setting a new state mark. In her stead, Manor now features junior Samantha Scott who helped orchestrate the Lady Wildcats’ 10-7 win over Monticello (2-2) in the second game of the tournament that followed a convincing 15-6 win by the Lady Monties over host Tri-Valley.

In that opener, Monticello jumped on the Lady Bears with 11 runs in the first two innings. The initial spark of the ensuing conflagration came via a three-run homer from senior Emily Morey. Tri-Valley errors extended the eight-run second inning as the Monties got RBIs from Lacey Gray, Sam Cohn, Caitlin Redlein, Ashley Falu and Yami Reyes. Monticello senior starter Becca Wood was effective until the seventh inning when the Lady Bears touched her up for three runs, but the large early lead assured the win.

In the second game, Scott helped her cause with a three-run double in the second inning as the Lady Wildcats jumped out to a 5-0 lead. That early margin helped forestall a Monticello comeback bid. In the final game of the day, numerous walks and errors by Tri-Valley led to a 25-5 rout by Livingston Manor in a game shortened by the 15-run rule. Over the course of the afternoon, Manor’s Maggi Calo collected four hits, seven RBI and blasted a home run. Scott had three hits and Victoria Davis had three hits and five RBI in the second game that featured the pitching debut of eighth grader Katie Rau. Morey and Cohn had three hits apiece for Monticello on the day. Over in Liberty, Sullivan West defeated Family School 15-0 and then won the second game 7-0 by forfeit. Hannah Schwatz was the winning pitcher for the 2-2 Lady Bulldogs. She struck out 14 and smacked two doubles. Katie Taylor went three for four.

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