By Rob Potter
MONGAUP VALLEY — July 26, 2005 – An all-star softball game, raffles for prizes and cash, and a dunking booth were all part of the program Friday night as the Sullivan County Women’s Softball League (SCWSL) held a “Fun Night” at Edward M. Collins Memorial Park in Mongaup Valley.
Although some dark gray clouds emitted a couple of light rain showers twice early in the evening, the field stayed in excellent playing condition and the night’s activities progressed as scheduled.
The all-star game kicked off the evening’s festivities. Prior to the game, the players lined up in front of the dugouts along first base and third base for the Pledge of Allegiance. Presenting the American Flag near the pitcher’s mound were four members of the Liberty Little League’s Senior Softball Team, which is sponsored by the SCWSL. Those players who proudly displayed the flag for all of the fans and players to see were Kirsten Sauer, Megan Sauer, Lila Schiff and Reia Schiff.
Picking players for the “A” all-star team and the “B” all-star team was rather simple. Each lady randomly selected a playing card from a standard deck. If a player picked a black card, she joined the “A” team; if she chose a red card, she became a member of the “B” team.
The members of the “A” team included: Lisa Decker, Shannon Dietrich, Diane Gonzalez, Kristin Hopkins, Darlene Malewit, Barb Merton, Chrissy Powers, Catherine Santaro, Alison Whipple, Laura White and Mardette Wilcox.
The members of the “B” team were: Erin Brown, Sharon Doyle, Mia Feliciano, Kathy Jo Hoyt, Maureen Johnson, Chris Lopez, Theresa Nietzel, Anna Puleo, Tammy Sondermeyer, Keri Vandermark and Justine Whitcomb.
The “A” team took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and held that advantage throughout the seven-inning game. Although the “B” team rallied to tie the score at 3-3 in the top of the second and knotted the score again at 8-8 in the top of the fifth, the “A” team recorded an 11-9 victory.
Highlights of the game included a two-run triple by Wilcox in the bottom of the first; a two-run single by Lopez in the top of the second which tied the score at 3-3; a two-run, inside-the-park home run by White and an RBI triple by Sondermeyer in the bottom of the second; a two-run, inside-the-park home run by Nietzel in the top of the fifth; a single by Feliciano that allowed Brown to score the game-tying run in the top of the fifth; and an RBI single by Gonzalez in the bottom of the fifth that gave the “A” team a 9-8 lead.
“Everybody played well,” said Merton, who served as the player/coach for the “A” team.
“It was a great game,” said Nietzel, who was the “B” team player/coach. “Everybody played well and we all had a lot of fun.”
Following the game, several players and fans won cash, music CDs, T-shirts and lunches at local restaurants in two raffles. The big raffle of the event featured a grand prize of a $3,000 travel voucher from Monticello Travel Service, a first prize of $100 and a second prize of $50.
The dunking booth was a popular attraction as fans of all ages tried to send one of the SCWSL players off the platform and into 200 gallons of water by taking a softball and hitting the target with a well-placed throw.
“It’s all for fun,” SCWSL President Chrissy Schiff said of the evening’s festivities.