Lady Generals Sweep
Suffolk West

By Rob Potter
LOCH SHELDRAKE — April 18, 2000 -- A balanced offensive attack and the fine pitching of Jessica Wright keyed a Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) sweep of Suffolk West Community College Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Generals rallied from a late two-run deficit to claim an 8-6 win in the first game and scored the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in the nightcap for a dramatic 9-8 victory.
In that second game, SCCC found itself down 7-3 in the fifth inning. After an error by Suffolk West enabled Amanda Weickum to score, Barbara Dertinger followed with an infield single that plated Wright and cut the Suffolk West lead to 7-5.
Two batters later, Heather Winderl beat out an infield grounder that brought home Lori Brown. Janelle Herrera then singled up the middle to score Dertinger with the tying run.
Each team scored a run in the sixth, to knot the score at 8-8. SCCC’s run came off the bat of Wright, who helped her own cause with a looping RBI triple down the left field line that landed a foot inside the chalk.
In the bottom of the seventh, it was time for more drama and another key hit by Herrera.
After the first two Lady Generals failed to get on base, the speedy Winderl reached first safely on an infield grounder. With Herrera at the plate, Winderl stole second base early in the count. The former Tri-Valley standout then scored the game-winning run when Herrera hit a bloop single into center field.
“I really felt I needed to do it for the team,” Herrera said of her game-winning hit. “We’ve worked so hard to improve ourselves and we deserved to win.”
Herrera, who is one of four Lady Generals with very little or no previous softball experience, led the offense in that second game. She went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. Winderl was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and Dertinger went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Wright allowed only seven hits while striking out six and walking one in the contest. She helped herself at the plate with two RBI.
In the first game, the Lady Generals used a sixth-inning rally to gain victory. An error, an infield hit by Weickum and perfect bunt by Wright loaded the bases for SCCC. Brown hit into a fielder’s choice and was out at first base, but Lucy Lopez scored the tying run.
The next batter was Dertinger, who laced a base hit up the box to plate both Weickum and Wright.
That gave the Lady Generals an 8-6 lead and Wright set down Suffolk West batters in order in the top of the seventh. The freshman lefty, who enjoyed a stellar career on the mound as a Livingston Manor Lady Wildcat, allowed only two hits in the contest. She struck out five, walked none and allowed only one earned run.
The offensive production came from Lacy Dalrymple (3-for-4, 2 RBI), Weickum (3-for-4) and the trio of Dertinger, Herrera and Winderl, all of whom were 2-for-4 at the plate. Dertinger added a pair of RBI and Winderl knocked in one.
“I’m proud of the team,” said SCCC coach Chris DePew. “We’re not hanging our heads when we fall behind. We put ourselves in a hole in that second game but knew we could start hitting and dig ourselves out of it. Earlier in the season if we fell behind like that, we might not have come back to win.”
DePew also praised Herrera for her key hit and the performance of Wright.
With the pair of victories, SCCC moved its record to 4–6. Suffolk West dropped to 4–6 on the season.