By Rob Potter
MONGAUP VALLEY — June 1, 2004 – The Charlie’s Angels softball team pushed its 2004 season record to 2-0 last Thursday night.
The Angels grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning and a 9-1 advantage after three innings of play en route to registering a 12-4 victory over H.C. Sports in a Sullivan County Women’s Softball League game at Edward M. Collins Memorial Park in Mongaup Valley.
Tonya Martin got the Angels’ offense started in the top of the first. With two outs and two runners on base, Martin ripped a double to left field. Both Robyn Gannon and Karen Fisher scored on the play, giving Charlie’s Angels a quick 2-0 lead.
Martin scored two batters later when Debbie Ackerley singled to right field.
H. C. Sports answered with a run in the bottom of the first. With one out, Jamie Hopkins stroked a double to left center field. The next batter, Amanda Irwin, followed with a double to right center to bring Hopkins around to score.
H. C. Sports threatened to score more runs in the opening frame as it loaded the bases with two outs. But Charlie’s Angels pitcher Linda Schwartz got a groundout to end the attempted rally.
In the top of the third, the Angels extended their advantage to 9-1. Lisa Krom hit an RBI single to give the Angels a 4-1 lead. The next batter, Ackerley, doubled to right center to put two runners on base with just one out. Cindy Ellmauer followed with a bloop single to center field, which allowed both Krom and Ackerley to score. Anna Tesseyman made it a 7-1 ballgame with an RBI single to center field.
Schwartz and Gannon each recorded an RBI later in the frame.
In the bottom of the third, Charish Priest hit a bloop single to left field to bring teammate Barbara Thompson across home plate with H. C. Sports’ second run of the game.
Charlie’s Angels scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning. With no outs and two teammates on the basepaths, Ellmauer hit an infield single to score Krom. After Tesseyman singled to load the bases, Terri Hess hit a hard ground ball to third base. Hess was thrown out at first base, but picked up an RBI when Ackerley scored on the play.
An RBI single by Christine Decker in the top of the sixth accounted for the Angels’ final run of the contest.
H. C. Sports attempted another comeback in their last at-bat in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, Jennifer Wright and Hopkins each reached base on an error. Irwin then singled to right field to bring Wright in to score. The next batter, Thompson, stroked a double that allowed Hopkins to cross home plate and make it a 12-4 game.
But H. C. Sports could not get any closer. As a result, the team’s record fell to 0-3 on the season. (On Tuesday night, H. C. Sports had to forfeit to Charlie’s Angels when it did not have enough players at game time. Then on Wednesday night, L & B Tack defeated H. C. Sports, 11-10.)
“It was good to get out and play tonight,” said Irwin, who is the coach of H. C. Sports, which is sponsored by Hot Corner Sports Collectibles in Livingston Manor. “We have a lot of new players on the team. I thought we played pretty well for one of our first games together.”
Irwin also liked the fact that the squad was competitive the entire game.
“We tried to come back in the seventh inning,” she said. “We got a couple of runs, but couldn’t score anymore. You win some and you lose some.”
Charlie’s Angels Coach Jo Walls was happy to see the 2004 season begin.
“Just getting out to play again is great, it was a long winter,” she said.
Walls noted that there is only one roster change for the Angels this season. Over the winter, Shirley Townsend, who played softball in women’s leagues in Sullivan County for 29 years, decided to retire. Her choice left the team with an opening on the roster, but that was quickly filled when Lisa Krom joined Charlie’s Angels. Krom played for L & B Tack last season.
“We’re like a family, we’ve been playing together for so many years,” Walls said. “We’ll miss Shirley.”
While noting that a key to victory Thursday night was her team’s timely hitting, Walls also praised the squad’s defense.
“We had some great plays out there tonight,” she commented.
Notes: Charlie’s Angels and H. C. Sports both compete in the “A” Division of the Sullivan County Women’s Softball League. The other teams in the division are Cooper Paint, L & B Tack and Roark’s Tavern.
There are also five teams in the league’s “B” Division. Those teams are Bummy’s Lakeside, Combined Energy Services (CES), Mr. Willy’s New Hope and The Nugget Bar.
The league will be playing games at four fields – Collins Park, Liberty High School, Swan Lake Fire Department and White Sulphur Springs Fire Department – four nights a week now through the end of July. The playoffs will begin the first week of August.
New this year is a league Web site that includes game information and statistics. The Web site is located at www. scwomenssoftball.com