LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY — The boys of summer are back!

Just a few short weeks in the past, we labored under nearly three feet of snow, but on Thursday, April 13 it was a welcome sign of spring to watch a couple of high school varsity baseball teams take to the field under sunny skies.

Thanks to a strong start, the visiting Eagles of Downsville/Roscoe (3-0) defeated the home team Livingston Manor Wildcats 14-6, aided in part by a total of six errors charged against Manor (0-2). The Eagles were tagged with a solo error.

In the first frame, Downsville’s Matt Rampe set the tone of the game with an RBI triple, followed by another run across the plate.

The Eagles continued with a “fast & furious” assault on the Wildcats, as they racked up two more runs in the second, four in the third, two in the fourth, and another quarto in the fifth inning.

Manor got on the scoreboard in the fourth, as a player earned a free trip home on a balk.

The Wildcats’ big inning was in the seventh frame, as Dylan Smith slashed a three-RBI triple to close out the game.

In the hit-rich affair, the Eagles had eight hits, while the Wildcats responded with four.

Erik Dusseldorp earned the win for the Eagles, as he pitched for five and a third frames, allowing three runs, one hit and striking out nine. He helped his own cause with three RBI’s. Dusseldorp was backed up on the mound by finisher Dan Clancy.

For the Wildcats, starter Josh Evans took the loss, as he hurled for two innings, giving up four runs, one hit and whiffing two. John McGrath and Jake Budd each had a turn up on the lonely, all-eyes-are-watching pile of dirt.

The Eagles take to the field this season under the Downsville banner, but in reality are a combined team comprised of 10 players from Roscoe and four from Downsville in an effort to keep both high school varsity baseball teams alive.

Jeff Loeffler, coach of the Wildcats, is a man of few words.

“When you make five or six errors, you’re going to lose…and when you don’t swing the bat, you’re going to lose.”

“But we did get a double toward the end,” he said.

Speaking of coming out swinging, Eagles coach Mike Hill, said of the game, “We started out strong, and kind of worked from ahead… we were able to hit the ball, and we pitched well today.”