By Lori Brown
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — July 21, 2006 – New Hope came back to defeat Cobblers, 16-12, Tuesday night in a Sullivan County Women’s Softball League (SCWSL) “B” Division game at Gary A. Bradley Field at the White Sulphur Springs Fire Department Park.
Going into the seventh inning down 12-8, New Hope, which was the visiting team, knew it needed to gain the lead and prevent Cobblers from tying the game or scoring the winning run in the bottom of the inning.
Heather Bachmann was first up to bat and she hit a single. Devon Davis also hit a single, which put Bachmann into scoring position at second base.  Allison Whipple then hit an inside-the-park home run, which brought New Hope to within a run at 12-11.
The game-tying run was scored by Moe Johnson, thanks to a base hit by Lori Kemmis.
Kemmis scored the go-ahead run moments later on a hit by Darlene Malewit.
Tammy Sondermeyer then had a base hit to load the bases. Ashley King ripped a single to score Laura Denman, which gave New Hope a 14-12 advantage.
Nikki Northrup had a base hit, which again loaded the bases. Heather Bachmann slammed a double, which allowed both Malewit and King to cross the plate and extend New Hope’s lead to four runs at 16-12.
Heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Cobblers players knew they had to score four runs to tie and force extra innings. New Hope wanted to keep the first lead it had since the first inning. New Hope shut down Cobblers in the frame to record a four-run victory.
New Hope improved its season record to 7-4, while Cobblers fell to 6-7.
Both teams were anxious to win this game and got off to a good start in the first inning.
New Hope took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as Davis, Whipple and Kelly Cicero all reached base safely and came around to score.
However, Cobblers scored four runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 4-3 lead.
During the top of the second, Cobblers played good defense and held New Hope scoreless.
With two outs in the bottom of the second, Cobblers scored three runs to extend its advantage to 7-3. Stephanie Babich earned three RBI with a base hit and advanced to second base on an error.
Cobblers kept New Hope from scoring during the third inning.
In the bottom of the third, New Hope played tight defense and only let one run score. Terilyn Steigler recorded that run on a base hit by Cathy Roser.
New Hope tightened the lead in the fourth. With two outs in the inning, the New Hope batters started slamming the ball. Cicero, Kemmis and Laura Denman hit consecutive singles to load the bases. Darlene Malewit then hit the ball into the outfield, which brought Cicero and Kemmis in to score to cut the Cobblers’ lead to 8-5.
Lara Stoutenburg led off the bottom of the fourth with a single. Teammates Rene Edwards and Shannon Weigand followed Stoutenburg’s lead and hit singles of the own. With bases loaded, Erin Brown smacked a single, scoring Stoutenburg and Edwards.
Susan Hahn hit a single to load the bases again. Weigand scored on a base hit by Steigler, while Hahn crossed the plate thanks to a double by Janet Calangelo.
Those runs gave Cobblers a 12-5 lead at the end of four innings of play.
In the top of the fifth, New Hope narrowed Cobblers’ seven-run lead. Whipple slammed an inside-the-park home run, scoring herself and Davis.
Cobblers loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, but the New Hope defense did not allow any of those runners to score.
In the top of the sixth, New Hope repeated what it did in the fourth inning as Cicero, Kemmis and Denman hit consecutive singles with two outs. With bases loaded, Malewit singled to score Cicero.
That was the only run New Hope recorded in the frame, however. Cobblers ended the inning by forcing out Denman at home plate.
New Hope then shut down Cobblers during the bottom of the sixth.
New Hope Coach Sean Matthews was very proud of his team.
“Everyone realized what we had at stake,” he said. “The girls relaxed out there and made better plays. They were more patient on the bases but when chances arose, they were more aggressive. I am very proud that the team came together and won the game.
“Last year we were champs in the ‘B’ Division and our goal is to be champs again this year,” Matthews added.