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Rob Potter | Democrat

Neversink FD’s Joe Noren slides safely into third base after tagging up on a fly ball as White Lake FD third baseman Jason Kraack, left, holds up his glove to field the throw from the outfield during the bottom of the sixth inning of Wednesday night’s Eastern Sullivan Firefighters Softball League game.

Neversink FD defeats
White Lake FD, 12-9

By Rob Potter
NEVERSINK — July 16, 2010 — The host Neversink Fire Department team took an early lead on Wednesday night against White Lake FD in an Eastern Sullivan Firefighters Softball League game.
Neversink FD jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, which helped the team record a 12-9 victory.
With the win, Neversink FD improved its record to 8-3 and remain tied with Smallwood-Mongaup-Valley FD for first place in the league standings. The two teams are followed closely by the White Sulphur Springs FD team, which has a 7-3 record.
The key hit in Neversink FD’s five-run first inning was a three-run home run over the right field fence by John Shamro. Teammates Jesse Noren and Ron Hewlett each added an RBI single in the frame.
But White Lake FD (5-6) rallied to take a 6-5 lead in the top of the third. An RBI double by Josh Cunningham and a three-run home run by Bob Yakin brought the team within a run at 5-4. Moments later, John Thurston blasted a two-run homer over the center field fence to give White Lake FD a one-run advantage.
The score remained 6-5 until the bottom of the fourth, which is when Neversink FD scored four times to regain the lead, 9-6. Bo Murphy scored on a double by Noren to even the score at 6-6. Ben Monell then scored the go-ahead run on a single by Mike Garigliano. Shamro and Ed McCarthy followed with an RBI double and an RBI single, respectively.
White Lake FD answered with a run in the top of the fifth. Cunningham crossed home plate when Thurston grounded out.
In the bottom of the fifth, Andy Garigliano scored on Matt Costa’s sacrifice fly to give Neversink FD a 10-7 advantage.
White Lake FD scored twice in the top of the sixth to again cut its deficit to a single run. Jeremy Cunningham and Josh Cunningham both hit RBI singles in the frame.
Neversink FD scored the final two runs of the night in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Kevin Murphy singled to center field to bring both Joe Noren and Mike Garigliano in to score.
Neversink FD pitcher Mike Garigliano then retired the White Lake FD batters in order in the top of the seventh to seal the win.
“Our guys played solid softball,” Neversink FD Player/Coach Russ Turner said. “A couple of our older guys, Mike [Garigliano] and Kevin Murphy came up big for us. Mike pitched a heck of a game and ‘Murph’ had that big hit to give us a couple of insurance runs.
“Kevin’s son Bo Murphy made some great plays at shortstop tonight,” Turner added.
Turner noted that it was good to get back on the winning track.
“We needed to redeem ourselves after we lost to Swan Lake [FD] last week,” he said. “We did that tonight. Everybody did a great job.”
For White Lake FD, which scored an average of 24 runs in its five games before Wednesday night’s contest, the loss hurt its chances for earning a spot in the league’s upcoming playoffs.
“We’re not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but we need help from some other teams to get in,” White Lake FD Player/Coach Bob Yakin said.
He noted that the team “has been competitive in every game this year.
“All six of our losses have been close games,” Yakin said. “The biggest run differential was five runs.”
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