By Rob Potter
FALLSBURG — Monticello pitcher Samantha Cohn tossed a no-hitter against the host Fallsburg Lady Comets in Friday afternoon’s non-league softball game.
Cohn received plenty of run support from her teammates as well. The Lady Panthers shut out Fallsburg, 24-0.
The game ended after five innings due to the 15-run rule.
With the win, Monticello improved its record to 2-1. The Lady Comets fell to 0-1 on the season.
Cohn, a freshman, recorded 11 strikeouts while hurling her gem.
The Lady Panthers wasted little time in giving Cohn the advantage as they scored six runs in the top of the first inning.
Jessica Venditti scored the team’s first run when she was able to run from third base to home as teammate Paige Schoonmaker reached first base safely when the Fallsburg catcher dropped the third strike.
Schoonmaker scored moments later on a passed ball and Alissa Hermida crossed the plate on an error to give Monticello a 3-0 lead.
Shannon Reese ripped an RBI single to right field to make it 4-0. She and Taylor Reardon both scored on passed balls before the Lady Comets could record the third out of the frame.
Monticello extended its lead to 16-0 in the second inning.
Jamie VanDermulen smashed a three-run double to left center field to push the Lady Panthers’ advantage to 9-0. VanDermulen gave her team a double-digit advantage when she crossed home plate as Reardon hit into a fielder’s choice.
The other key hit in the frame was Venditti’s infield single, which brought Reardon in to score.
The only Lady Panthers’ run in the third inning was scored by Krista Mangabang, who did so on a Lady Comets’ error.
The Fallsburg defense stepped up during the top of the fourth. After Hermida led off with an infield single, the Lady Comets registered a groundout and a pair of flyouts to hold Monticello scoreless in the frame.
However, the Lady Panthers scored seven times in the top of the fifth. Reardon began the frame by beating out a ground ball to shortstop. After Kate Oldfield reached base on a dribbler in front of the plate, Venditti singled home Reardon.
Cohn, Caitlin Bonnaci and Mangabang all hit two-run doubles later in the frame to account for the final six Monticello runs.
“Sam Cohn pitched a great game for us today,” Monticello Coach Ed Kaufmann said. “She threw the ball very well. She is throwing the ball hard and learning to throw strikes.”
The veteran coach then spoke about his team in general.
“We have a relatively young group this year,” Kaufmann said. “We only have two seniors. But they are a good group of girls and they are playing hard.”
Fallsburg Coach Kate Yaun, who is in her first year with the team, noted that she also has a somewhat young squad.
“We have four seniors, five juniors and several underclassmen,” she said.
Although her team was unable to record a hit or a run during the contest, Yaun saw some positives from the Lady Comets.
“We did better from the third to the fifth innings,” she commented. “The first two innings really hurt us. But we played better as the game went on.”
And she is hoping that improvement continues for the rest of the season.
“Last year, the team did not finish the season, so the main focus for us this year is to finish the schedule,” Yaun said.
Yaun also noted the performance of Celia Garcia, who pitched the fifth inning. Yaun noted that Garcia, who only began pitching during practice earlier in the week, did very well in her first time in the pitcher’s circle during a game.