By Rob Potter
MONGAUP VALLEY — L&B Tack and Charlie’s Angels earned victories in the first games of their respective Sullivan County Women’s Softball League (SCWSL) “A” Division semifinal series on Tuesday night at Edward M. Collins Memorial Park in Mongaup Valley.
L&B Tack topped Klein & Sons Logging, 15-6, in the opener of their best-of-three- game semifinal series. Charlie’s Angels defeated Cooper Paint, 15-4, in the opener of their best-of-three-game semifinal series.
L&B Tack grabs a 1-0 series lead
L&B Tack, which finished second in the “A” Division regular season standings with an 18-3 record, wasted little time in taking the lead against Klein & Sons. After holding Klein & Sons scoreless in the top of the first inning, L&B Tack grabbed a 3-0 advantage in the bottom of the first.
Jamie Hopkins led off with a single and scored moments later when Barbara Merton doubled to left-center field. Tini Kaiser then crossed home plate when Danielle Dailey grounded out.
Merton scored the third run of the frame for L&B Tack when Francine Kaiser hit a sacrifice fly.
L&B Tack increased its lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the second. Karen Smith ripped a double to center field to bring two teammates in to score.
Klein & Sons, which placed third in the “A” Division regular season standings after defeating Cooper Paint, 21-3, on Monday night in a tie-breaker game after both teams finished the regular season with identical 16-5 records, reduced the L&B Tack advantage in the top of the third. With two outs and the bases loaded, Cheryl Crumley singled to center field. Kelly Reid and Susan Waddell both scored on the base hit to make it a 5-2 game.
L&B Tack answered with four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 9-2 lead. The key hits in the inning were RBI triples by Dailey and Mary Smith.
In the top of the fourth, Klein & Sons recorded a run to move within six runs at 9-3. Chelsea Reuss scored that run by leading off the frame with a single and crossing the plate when the next batter, Jill Seibert, belted a triple to center field.
RBI singles by Merton and Dailey in the bottom of the fourth increased L&B Tack’s advantage to 11-3.
Klein & Sons reduced its deficit to five runs at 11-6 in the top of the fifth. With one out, Waddell and Jill Hubert-Simon both reached base with singles. Barb Ward-Blank then tripled to left field, allowing Waddell to score. Hubert-Simon crossed the plate when Crumley singled.
After extending its lead to 13-6 in the bottom of the fifth, L&B Tack scored the last two runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth on RBI singles by Dailey and Smith.
Charlie’s Angels records an 11-run victory
The Charlie’s Angels team overcame an early deficit on its way to victory.
In the top of the first inning, Cooper Paint took a 1-0 lead against Charlie’s Angels. A two-out single by Diana Sherman enabled Emily Drobysh to score the game’s first run.
But Charlie’s Angels responded by taking a 3-1 advantage in the bottom of the first. Leanne Mangabang and Tonya Martin both scored on Shannon Dietrich’s RBI triple. Dietrich then crossed the plate when Heidi Blade singled to left field.
The score remained the same until the bottom of the third. In that frame, Charlie’s Angels scored four times to extend its lead to 7-1. Mangabang scored on a single by Dietrich and Martin and Dietrich both scored on a triple by Blade.
Blade recorded the last run of the inning when she crossed the plate as Analey Dietrich grounded out.
Cooper Paint answered with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Jackie Litwak led off with a single and scored on a base hit by Brittany Schnautz. Moments later, Kristen Sarno scored as Saritza Vazquez reached base on a fielder’s choice.
Following a delay due to lightning, Charlie’s Angels scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 14-3 game. Key hits in the inning included a three-run double by Mangabang, an RBI single by Martin and a two-run double by Blade.
Charlie’s Angels added a run in the bottom of the fifth. Karyn Sheeley tagged up and scored from third base when Mangabang hit a fly ball to left field.
Cooper Paint scored the final run of the game in the top of the seventh. With one out, Erin Shuart stepped up to the plate. She hit the ball to deep right field and quickly ran around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
Notes: In Game 2 of their semifinal series on Wednesday night at Gary A. Bradley Field at the White Sulphur Springs Firemen’s Park, Charlie’s Angels defeated Cooper Paint, 11-4.
With the victory, Charlie’s Angels, which won the “A” Division regular season title with a 20-1 record, advanced to the best-of-three “A” Division championship series.
Heidi Blade and Shannon Dietrich paced the Charlie’s Angels offense as they both had three hits and two RBIs.
Jo Walls was the winning pitcher for Charlie’s Angels.
L&B Tack and Klein & Sons Logging played Game 2 of their semifinal series on Wednesday night at Collins Park. But they were unable to finish the game due to the weather.
With the score tied at 9-9 in the ninth inning, heavy rain forced the game to be suspended. The game will be finished on Monday night at Collins Park.
If Klein & Sons prevails, the teams will then play the third and deciding game of the series. If L&B Tack wins, the team will play Charlie’s Angels in Game 1 of the “A” Division championship series.