By Ted Waddell
LIBERTY — July 2, 2004 – No, you aren’t seeing double.
The local high school kids wearing the old Catskill Cougars uniforms are, in fact, sporting the real deal. Mike McGuire, former general manager of the defunct minor league baseball team and current assistant county district attorney, managed to get a stack of the old striped dubs complete with numbers for the Sullivan County Phillies turned Catskill Cougars.
But in Wednesday night’s Greater Hudson Valley Baseball League game against the Hurricanes from Middletown, it seemed as if the dusty old togs carried with them some defeats suffered by the old Cougars, as the newly-minted cats lost 9-4.
The Hurricanes jumped out to a 1-0 lead by the close of the first frame of the contest, which was played at Liberty High School.
In the second inning, the Cougars clawed their way to a one-run lead, and in the following frame made it a 4-1 ballgame.
At the end of five innings, however, the score was tied 4-4 as the Hurricanes started to roll across the field.
The sixth inning was a big frame for the visitors as the racked up five runs on their way to victory.
Harris “Hair Bear” Seletsky started for the Cougars and was relieved by Robbie “Grande” Silva in the sixth.
As the Hurricanes were headed off to baseball tourney this weekend in Pennsylvania, their coach sent four pitchers up to the mound to keep their arms fresh. Dominick Ruscitti, Dane Doucette, Jesse Horsham and Thomas Nagy all threw pitches in the contest.
“It was a good game,” Middletown Coach Dave Doucette said. “We came out a little flat early, and then I gave them a little talking to…after that, they started putting their bats together.”
According to Catskill Coach Tom Pazzalia, what’s been hurting them all year is allowing the other team to have a big inning.
And that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday as the Hurricanes scored five unanswered runs in the sixth to shatter the tie.
“We played good ball tonight against an upperclass team,” Pazzalia said. “We’re improving every game, and the team’s starting to come together.”
So what’s it like to go into a base- ball game wearing the old Catskill Cougars uniforms?
“It’s a pleasure to carry on that name,” Pazzalia said.