By Ted Waddell
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — August 12, 2005 – In the opening game of the 2005 Eastern Sullivan Firefighters Softball League championship series, the volunteer firefighters from Swan Lake defeated the host White Sulphur Springs squad by a final score of 18-10.
In the bottom of the first, WSSFD jumped out to a 1-0 lead.
But that advantage was quickly erased when Swan Lake FD sent two runners across the plate in the top of the second.
WSSFD picked up four runs in the third to make it a 5-2 ballgame.
Then came the fourth inning, which proved to be the key frame in the contest. Swan Lake FD scored 13 runs in the top of the fourth to take a commanding 15-5 lead.
WSSFD responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning to close its deficit to 15-9.
But Swan Lake FD added a run in the top of the fifth and two more in the top of the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, WSSFD scored once but could not keep the rally going.
Leading Swan Lake FD to the victory were John Gorr and Jimmy Parks, each of whom hit a home run. Mike Black, Matt DeWitt and John Piccard Jr. hit home runs for WSSFD.
Mike Fritz earned the win for Swan Lake FD, while Ryan Calkin took the loss for WSSFD.
Game 2 of the best-of-three game series is scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. tonight at the Swan Lake FD field located behind the firehouse.