By Rob Potter
JEFFERSONVILLE – April 23, 2002 — The Sullivan West softball team used the tried-and-true elements of good pitching and timely hitting to earn a non-league victory over visiting Livingston Manor last Friday afternoon.
SW senior pitcher Christina Winski allowed the Lady Wildcat batters only one hit and the Lady Bulldogs scored in three different innings to post a 6-1 win.
SW improved to 3-2 on the season, while Manor’s record dropped to 4-3.
After two-and-a-half scoreless innings, SW scored three runs in the bottom of the third. Shelisa Duquette led off the frame with a walk, Kim Jay singled and Katrina Meyer reached on an error to load the bases with no outs.
Winski stroked an infield hit to score Duquette and give the Lady Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. The next batter, junior center fielder Tiffany Hauser, grounded out, but Jay was able to score on the play. Two batters later, senior catcher Calley Sander singled to center field to bring Meyer across the plate.
The Lady Bulldogs added a pair of runs in the fifth. With Meyer and Winski on base, Hauser ripped a double to left field that brought both of her teammates around to score.
SW scored its final run in the sixth when Winski singled home Katie Yacino.
Winski struck out seven and walked one. Her bid for a shutout was lost in the top of the seventh, when Manor’s Bridget Ellison singled to left field. Ellison scored what turned out to be Manor’s only run when teammate Jamie Bowers grounded out later in the frame.
“Christina pitched very well,” SW Co-Coach Mike Ellmauer said. “She’s a very crafty pitcher.”
Manor Coach Gail Denman was disappointed with her team’s fielding.
“We had a lot of errors today,” Denman said. “I think that was the most errors we have had in any game so far this season.”
Denman noted that pitcher Alys Mann “pitched a good game.”
The Lady Wildcat offense, however, struggled against Winski.
“We tried to rally, but we started too late,” Denman said. “We were able to get some runners on base, but we just couldn’t get the base hits when we needed them.”
Ellmauer noted that he and fellow Co-Coach John Meyer are still learning to work together, as are the team members – who represent all three SW campuses.
“The kids are really working together and John and I are getting to know each other’s style of coaching better,” Ellmauer said. “We’re doing well and the team is doing well.”