By Lori Brown
GRAHAMSVILLE — April 28, 2006 – The visiting Fallsburg Lady Comets took an early lead over the Tri-Valley Lady Bears in Wednesday’s Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division V softball game.
In the top of the first inning, Fallsburg’s Mannie Wizwer crossed home plate to give her team a 1-0 advantage.
Unfortunately for the Lady Comets, that turned out to be the only run they scored in the contest.
T-V (3-2, 1-1 Division V) took command of the game by scoring 10 runs the bottom of the first.
The Lady Bears went on to post a 17-1 victory over Fallsburg (0-4, 0-2 Division V).
After a scoreless second, T-V added to its lead in the bottom of the third. During that frame, Lady Bears Gretchen Hartman, Kayla McNamara and Laurel Wilsen each had an RBI as T-V extended its advantage to 13-1. 
During the bottom of the fourth inning, T-V’s Heather McArthur bunted to get Karyn Sheeley home.  Then Kayla McNamara got a base hit to bring McArthur in to score.
Because of the OCIAA’s 15-run mercy rule, Fallsburg had to score at least two runs in the top of the fifth in order to keep playing past that frame.  But the T-V pitcher, Ackerley, struck out two batters and had got another Lady Comet hitter to ground out to end the game in the fifth.
Fallsburg Coach Chris Barnes had no comments to share regarding the game.
On the other hand, T-V Coach Mary Feusner noted that Sheeley scored four runs, stole two bases and had two base hits on the afternoon.  The veteran coach also pointed out that Ackerley went 2-for-4 and had two RBIs during the game.
T-V’s starting pitcher, Gretchen Hartmann, and Ackerley combined to record a no-hitter. Hartmann registered three strikeouts, while Ackerley had two strikeouts.
“The girls were very aggressive on the bases and we had many practices to receive the win,” Feusner said. “The girls were ready for the [Sullivan County Softball Officials] tournament this past weekend, but due to the weather it was rescheduled for May 6.”
Note: Tri-Valley will be one of four teams to participate in the Sullivan County Softball Officials Tournament on Saturday, May 6 at the Grahamsville Fairgrounds. The other teams will be Eldred, Liberty and Monticello.