By Rob Potter
MONGAUP VALLEY — May 30, 2006 – The Cooper Paint softball team has picked up right where it left off in 2005.
Last summer, Cooper Paint won all 21 of its regular season games on the way to capturing the “A” Division title in the Sullivan County Women’s Softball League (SCWSL).
In the playoffs, Cooper Paint reached the “A” Division Championship Series. The team won the first game of that best-of-three game series, but was defeated by Charlie’s Angels in the next two contests.
Overall, Cooper Paint posted a 22-2 record last summer, won the regular season title and finished second in the playoffs.
Last Thursday night at Edward M. Collins Memorial Park in Mongaup Valley, Cooper Paint showed that it may very well claim SCWSL titles in 2006.
Cooper Paint, which is once again competing in the SCWSL’s “A” Division grabbed a 10-0 lead in the first inning of its game versus International Contractors Corp. (ICC). Cooper Paint overwhelmed ICC, a “B” Division team in its second year of competition, throughout the contest and posted a 31-1 victory.
The game ended after five innings due to the SCWSL’s 15-run mercy rule.
With the win, Cooper Paint improved to 2-0 on the season, while ICC fell to 0-1.
Cooper Paint wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard. The first batter of the game, Jennifer Wright, ripped a single to center field. After Charish Priest walked, Amanda Cox singled to center field and Wright scored on the base hit.
Amanda Irwin followed with an RBI single to right center. The next batter, Ally McCarthy, hit into a fielder’s choice. As Irwin was forced out at second base, McCarthy reached first base and Cox crossed home plate to give Cooper Paint a 3-0 advantage.
Later in the frame, McCarthy scored on a sacrifice fly by Jackie Litwak. Lori Brown, who doubled and advanced to third base on Litwak’s sacrifice, scored on an infield single by Erin Shuart to make it a 5-0 game.
Cooper Paint pitcher Nat Cillis helped her own cause by hitting a two-run single to left center, which increased the Cooper advantage to 7-0.
Two batters later, Priest smacked an inside-the-park home run to give Cooper Paint a 10-0 lead.
With one out in the bottom of the first, ICC teammates Elisa Bound and Lynda Bracken hit consecutive singles. But Cillis retired the next two batters on a fly ball and a groundout, respectively, to end the ICC scoring threat.
The Cooper Paint batters continued to flex their muscles in the second inning. Brown smashed a two-run, inside-the-park homer to deep center field and Litwak followed with a solo inside-the-park home run to extend the team’s lead to 13-0.
Moments later, Priest singled to center field to bring Erin Shuart in to score. Cox and Irwin added RBI base hits as Cooper Paint took a 16-0 lead.
Cooper Paint added six runs in the third, eight in the fourth and one in the fifth.
ICC recorded its only run of the evening in the bottom of the fourth. Tabatha Bound led off with a solid single to left field and moved to second base on a groundout by Elisa Bound.
Bracken then hit a sharp grounder to shortstop. However, the subsequent throw to first base was high and the ball sailed into foul territory. As McCarthy fielded the ball, Tabatha Bound, who had made her way to third base when Bracken hit the ball, ran down the line and crossed home plate.