Blazing Comets
Fallsburg Gets Its First League Win Of The Season And The First Under The Watch Of Coach Carlye Hyde As They Erupt For An 18-Run Inning En Route To a Five-Inning Shortened Route Of Tri-Valley
Fallsburg 27, Tri-Valley 10
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Photos at www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Fallsburg wins! (clockwise) Southpaw Kirsten Jacobsen fires a strike. Kierra Miller blasts a three-run homer as part of her five RBI day. Tri-Valley's Emily DiToro follows up a complete game outing against Ellenville with a relief performance as the day's third pitcher for the Lady Bears. Fallsburg's Sami Wiles steals home.
GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—Given the law of averages, one of these days it was bound to happen: Fallsburg would record a league win and in the process pay back one of the Division V teams that has had their way with them for what seems like forever.
One of those teams that has battered them from pillar to post is Tri-Valley. Consider their first meeting this year, a 19-3 affair that afforded the Lady Bears one of its two league wins to date and one of its overall three wins up to this juncture.
As for Fallsburg which had lost all four prior league outings and had only two wins against Family School against five losses overall, the time seemed right to reverse the curse so to speak and turn the tables on their hosts at long last.
With left handed hurler Kirsten Jacobsen on the hill, the same pitcher Tri-Valley had faced in the first outing with the Lady Comets, it seemed as if the Lady Bears would have little trouble stringing together hits for the usual outcome.
But lo and behold, this was not the same Lady Comets team by any stretch.
This time they really came to play.
Coach Mary Feusner sent righty Jessica Kinney to the mound. Kinney would last just two innings as Feusner had to lift her in the third inning, a frame in which Fallsburg would send 20 batters to the plate. The first five were Kinney’s responsibility. Following that it was Amanda TerBush who got the call with precious little time to warm up.
That inning would yield 18 runs as walks and errors abetted the already lively bats of the blazing Comets who seemed as if they’d be up until the end of days.
Actually though, the game started out rather sedately. Fallsburg got a run in the top of the first on an RBI single by Sami Wiles. Kinney struck out big bat Nyasia Blakney to end the threat of further damage.
Jacobsen worked around an E-3 to put Tri-Valley away in the first.
The Lady Comets added two runs in the second behind an RBI double from Jordan Reichenbaugh and an E-6 throw which allowed her to score.
The Lady Bears failed to score in the second and now trailed 3-0.
Then it happened.
Wiles led off with a single and and E-4 put runners on the corners. A walk to Christina Beatty loaded the bases (it wouldn’t be the last time by a long shot that the bases were filled). Another run scored on an E-1 before Kinney loaded them up with another bases on balls.
Feusner had seen enough and she summoned TerBush to take the ball. She walked in a run as Celia Garcia showed patience at the plate. A single and a couple of errors allowed Jewelisa Trujillo’s at bat to plate three runs and on and on it went. TerBush faced nine batters before Emily DiToro took the ball. Four walks in the inning were yielded by the trio of pitchers and two batters were hit by pitches to add to the miasma.
When the dust cleared, Fallsburg led 21-0.
Tri-Valley finally got on the board in the bottom of the third as Rachel Adriaans led off with a walk and scored on a passed ball and errant throw. Erin Smith hit a double and scored on a sac fly from Ashley Exner but that was it.
To avoid a five-run shortened game, Tri-Valley would have to shave Fallsburg’s lead down below 15 runs. But the Lady Comets had other ideas as they added to their lead with two runs in the fourth to make it 23-6.
Tri-Valley came back with four runs in the bottom of the frame to cut the deficit to 23-6. Kinney walked to start the inning and a single by Nicole Bradley gave the Lady Bears runners at the corners. With DiToro at the plate, Kinney scored on a passed ball and the other run came in on a dropped third strike throw to first. TerBush doubled in a Smith sent in another on with a sac fly.
Kiera Miller followed an RBI single from Jacobsen in the top of the fifth with a three-run homer that just sailed by the glove of Nicole Bradley as it rocketed down the line. Those four runs would provide the insurance needed to stop the game after Tri-Valley scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth, just two runs short of prolonging the game.
Fallsburg improved to 3-5 (1-4 OCIAA), while Tri-Valley fell to 3-8 (2-5 OCIAA).
Miller was two-for-three with 5 RBI. Wiles had two hits and two RBI for Fallsburg. TerBush and Smith were both two-for-four with one RBI.
Hyde was delighted with her team’s showing. “This was a lot of fun and two years in the making,” she noted. Hyde felt this was a great payback for the earlier 19-3 loss. “I really thought we could have won that game and that we could have played way more competitively and we proved that here tonight.”
Aside from Miller’s blast, Fallsburg kept the line going with base hits. “A single is a single and if gets the job done that’s all we need,” said Hyde. This was special. I’m really proud of these girls. Hyde gave props to her entire team but cited senior Celia Garcia who has been playing with her since she started her coaching tenure.
Coach Feusner laughed when this writer quipped, “Mama said there’d be days like this.” It seemed as if everything went awry for the Lady Bears including the issuance of walks, yanked throws etc.
“We tip our hats to them. They were a different team today. They played with a lot of confidence and when we were issuing up those walks and hit batters and we didn’t have our act together, they continued to function.”
Feusner credited her team with trying to extend the game in the bottom of the fifth. “We weren’t going to give up the ship,” she said. Tri-Valley seniors include Erin Smith, Rachel Adriaans and Liz Bracken. Aside from those veterans, the Lady Bears are young and up-and-coming.
It’s a learning curve for both of these squads, that’s for sure. But for the Lady Comets, this game will no doubt reside in their collective memory for awhile to come.
For an album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Fourth Term
Livingston Manor Captures Its Fourth Consecutive Benny Chesnick Tournament Title With Wins Over Monticello and Tri-Valley; Two-Time Defending State Champs Look Strong In Post-Diescher Era As Effective Pitching, Timely Hitting and Fielding Combine To Marshal Early Season Victories; Monties Beat T-V In Opener Of Annual SCSO Tourney Renamed For Dearly Departed Umpire; Sullivan West Sweeps Family In Liberty To Earn Share Of Tourney Title.
Monticello 11, Tri-Valley 6
Livingston Manor 10, Monticello 7
Livingston Manor 25, Tri-Valley 5
Sullivan West 15, Family 0
Sullivan West 7, Family 0
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Photos at: www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Scenes from the Benny Chesnick Memorial Softball Tournament Officiated by the Sullivan County Softball Officials (Clockwise): Monticello senior hurler Sam Cohn, Livingston Manor junior Samantha Scott, Monticello senior Emily Morey smacks a three run homer vs. Tri-Valley, Samantha Scott blasts a triple in the first inning vs. Monticello. Tri-Valley sophomore Emily DiToro gets the start in game one. The late Benny Chesnick, Sullivan West ace Hannah Schwatz, Sullivan West's Bethanii Padu lays down a bunt versus Family, Monticello senior Becca Wood fires a strike versus the Lady Bears.
GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—When it comes to annual events like the Benny Chesnick Memorial Softball Tournament, it is natural to hearken back to prior years in the context of trying to frame the current year’s proceedings.
Things do change from year to year but lately in terms of the Sullivan County Softball Official’s tournament which was renamed a few years back for the late Benny Chesnick, that iconic umpire who spent the lion share of his 80 year tenure on this earth behind the plate, it seems as if at least one thing has remained the same.
And that would be the dominance of Livingston Manor which with this year’s sweep of Monticello (last year’s co-champion by dint of its two wins versus Liberty) and host Tri-Valley, afforded the Lady Wildcats and their coaches Kevin Clifford and Charlie Hicks a chance to pose with the tournament trophy for the fourth consecutive year.
So what was different this year? Well for one thing the sky was bright blue and the weather balmy as opposed to last year’s chilly drizzle. But more importantly, the two-time defending Class D state champs were entering this tournament without the services of Marissa Diescher who is now hurling for Penn State.
Diescher’s high school legacy brought a state record 27 no hitters, 1,345 strike outs for fourth best in state history and last year’s stingy 0.14 ERA. Pitchers of that caliber come along once in a blue moon so for Manor, a new way of winning will have to evolve if the Lady Wildcats are to continue their storied success.
That said, when it comes to softball, pitching is still the name of the game. With her graduation, Diescher turned the ball over to Samantha Scott who was 3-0 in her three starts a year ago with an ERA of 1.65. Scott, a highly competitive junior is clearly enjoying her role as Manor’s number one starter.
She showed her mettle against Monticello by garnering the win and lacing four hits. She’d go on to score four runs in the second game. Her first at bat of the day evinced a booming triple and her second time up she blasted a three-run double.
As I was on call to emcee my 25th consecutive year at the Hortonville Talent Show, I had to leave the game after the third inning so how the game evolved from the 5-0 LM lead to the eventual 10-7 Lady Wildcats win will remain a mystery to me until someone fills in the gaps. (Facebook friends feel free to message me with your version!). Needless to say I wasn’t there for the Lady Wildcats second game wherein Manor eighth grader Kaitlin Rau got a win in her mound debut in the 25-5 landslide victory over the Lady Bears.
I was however present for the tourney opener as Tri-Valley hosted Monticello. But prior to running through the details of that first encounter, it is apropos to offer some words about the tournament itself and though I am not usually given to quoting my own prior writing of sporting events, I do make exceptions when I feel that what I’ve said before remains timely and thoughtful. So with that in mind I am paraphrasing from last year’s article on this tournament , entitled “Wonders Never Cease.”
That piece reiterated an elegy to the man for whom the Sullivan County Softball Officials decided to name their longstanding tournament. The event which is held each spring serves as a training ground for their newest officials to better learn the ropes in overseeing the games.
Umpiring is an art form unto itself and no one in local history was more of an artisan of the craft than Benny Chesnick. I often think about him as I sometimes find myself standing under the blazing sun in the sweltering heat. I used to marvel at his ability to stand in behind that plate for hours on end and never utter a word of complaint. He did that right up to the ripe age of 80.
Chesnick was a beloved icon and an embodiment of Americana itself. Starting out at age ten playing baseball, seventy years later he was still around the plate. For 45 years he umpired games, an arbiter of calls and strikes, an unwavering local ambassador of America’s pastime. I felt privileged to make his acquaintance, to listen to him recall iconic moments from that storehouse of memories he had from so many years around the game.
Benny’s life wasn’t an easy one. But he had his love of umpiring , and to him that was both a blessing and a raison d’ ètre (French for a reason to be).
Chesnick is gone now, but the game he embraced so reverently goes forward each year with new ranks of players to follow behind the legions who have gone before them. Chesnick would have smiled broadly to see such an array of talent, enthusiasm and competiveness being played in a tournament that will forever bear his name.
I like to think he continues to look down on these games, and unlike the rest of us limited by our mortal incapacity to be in more than one place at a time, able to hover over the two towns in which the tournament is unfolding simultaneously to revel in it all. As the fledgling umpires took their turns calling balls and strikes and ruling runners out or safe on the basepaths, they were following in the footsteps of one of the greats.
As promised now, the salient details of the opener which featured a pitching match up between Tri-Valley tenth grader Emily DiToro and Monticello senior Rebecca Wood. The Lady Monties wasted no time in getting on the board as they scored a trio of runs in the top of the first behind a three run jack from senior Emily Morey. The two-out blast scored Wood and Lacey Bray who had arrived on base via a walk and a single.
Tri-Valley got one of those runs back in the bottom of the stanza as Rachel Adriaans scored on a passed ball with Kayla Yager at the plate. An E-6 then loaded the bases but Wood got DiToro to ground out to prevent any further damage.
The second inning was Tri-Valley’s undoing as it allowed eight runs to cross the plate as the Monties batted around. It began with an E-6 that allowed sophomore Ashley Falu to arrive safely at first before DiToro plunked Yami Reyes and walked Wood to load the bases with no outs. An RBI single by Bray and an E-6 off the bat of Sam Cohn plated the first two runs. A passed ball sent another home. A walk to Paulina Pavese loaded them up again setting the table for an RBI single by Catitlin Radlein.
Falu’s stroke of the bat produced another error allowing two more runs in and a double by Reyes sent home two more. When the dust cleared, Monticello held an 11-1 lead. Tri-Valley went scoreless in the bottom of the second as did Monticello in the top of the third. Tri-Valley got its second run of the game in the third inning via an RBI single from Ashley Exner.
Wood drew a bases loaded walk and Cohn produced two runs on a fly out as Tri-Valley misplayed the ball sending it home instead of to third thereby failing to get the runner who tagged up from the hot corner and allowing a second run to score on a throwing error back to third. The Monties now led 14-2.
Neither team scored in the fifth and both added a run in the sixth. Monticello scored on an RBI single by Wood. Tri-Valley manufactured a run as Exner led off with a double, Nicole Bradley walked . Exner stole third and scored as DiToro hit into a double play.
Tri-Valley cut into Monticello’s 15-3 lead by scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Erin Smith had an RBI single , a stolen base and an RBI single by Exner accounted for the final two runs.
Monticello Coach Shannon Dietrich was pleased with the win. “Rebecca is our number two pitcher. She came out and got ahead of batters. Unfortunately she got away from it a little bit and walked a few people. An error happens and that kind of took her out of it mentally. But overall she was able to come back and get the win. The second half of the game she definitely got better as the game went on and that was what I was glad to see. The run support is nice too,” she noted.
On the downside, “We have to work to do in execution. The effort is there. We’re trying and working hard but it’s the little things, the fundamentals that we’re not executing such as covering a base, fielding ground balls, calling for a ball. We missed a sign. Little things like that should be automatic at this level,” noted Dietrich.
“Thank goodness we were able to get the run support early,” she concluded. Dietrich planned on using a flex lineup in the second game as she prepared to send veteran Sam Cohn to the mound. Dietrich brought up freshman Brianna Bennet from the J.V and wanted to get her into the game as well.
Tri-Valley Coach Mary Feusner, now in her 35th year of coaching with 33 of those as head softball coach had this to say about the first game: “We came on hitting pretty decently towards the end of the game. Erin Smith did a great job running the bases effectively and communicating out there. We had first game jitters and our pitching wasn’ t as sharp as it needed to be and our miscues in the field meant we hurt ourselves more than Monticello hurt us,” she noted.
“That happens with the first game out and lots of kids not here during practice because of spring break,” she added.
Game two featured a pitching clash between Manor’s Samantha Scott and Monticello’s Sam Cohn. Cohn did allow the aforementioned triple to Scott in the top of the first but escaped damage by inducing an inning-ending pop up to first off the bat of Victoria Davis.
Scott issued three walks in the second inning but escaped a bases-loaded jam by getting Wood to ground out from short to second. After retiring the Monties in order in the top of the second, Livingston Manor scored five in the bottom of the frame as Cohn walked Jordan Miller and Jordyne Shaver before Nina Zheng dropped a perfect bunt down to load the bases . An RBI single by Jamie Sedlacek got the Lady Wildcats on the board. Magi Calo drew a bases loaded walk and Scott then cleared the bases with a a double.
So at the time of my departure, as I mentioned it was 5-0. When I get the details of what happened next I’ll come back and fill them in. As noted, Livingston Manor held on for the 10-7 win as Monticello fell to 2-2. The Lady Wildcats would improve to 3-1 over the as yet winless Lady Bears in the tourney finale.
According to T-V Coach Mary Feusner, “In the final contest of the day, Tri-Valley was plagued with the inability to throw strikes from the circle. Three different pitchers issued 18 walks in a shortened game due to the 15 run rule. It was 3-3 after the first frame and then Manor never looked back as they tallied 7 runs in the second, 8 runs in the fourth and 6 more runs in the fifth frame. Manor had 11 hits. The only extra base hit came from the bat of Megan Edwards. An RBI triple in the fifth. Manor’s pitcher Katie Rau, an eighth grader, picked up her first varsity win.
For the Lady Bears Rachel Adriaans scored twice. Adriaans, Amanda TerBush, Erin Smith, Kayla Yager, Jessica Kinney and Ashley Exner had one hit apiece. Exner’s double in the first plated two teammates.
T-V moves into division play this week with home contests versus Chester and Seward. The Lady Bears venture to Fallsburg on Friday.
Over in Liberty Sullivan West (2-2) beat Family School, 15-0 and won by forfeit 7-0. Hannah Schwatz tossed a no-hitter in the opener, striking out 14, and added two doubles, a triple and single. Katie Taylor went 3-for-4. Schwatz had two hits.
Nick Piatek took photos of one of the Sullivan West game and those pictures along with the albums of the Tri-Valley/Monticello and Monticello/Livingston Manor game (first three innings) can be viewed at www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
The Next Wave
Tri-Valley And Eldred Work Assiduously To Improve As Teams Look To Fill In For Grads And Injured Players; Lady Bears Come Away With A League Win As Offense Comes On Strong In Second Half
Tri-Valley 3, Eldred 0
By RICHARD A. ROSS
rross@sportsinsightsny.com
Scenes from a league clash between host Tri-Valley and visiting Eldred (clockwise): Tri-Valley junior Mareena DiMilia controls the ball before heading upfield to score on a breakaway. Eldred junior keeper Julia Wilk goes airborne to punch a ball out of harm's way. Wilk is filling in for Kayla Flieger who was injured and out for the season. Eldred's Shannon Brucher fires a ball by a ducking Rachel Adriaans in a heated encounter. T-V senior Sarah Schneyer throws in. As sweeper, Schneyer is a great defensive asset for the Lady Bears.
GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—For the first time in my ten years of sports coverage, I didn’t begin my fall season with a visit to Tri-Valley in the first week of September for the annual Tri-Valley tournament. That first-week view of Tri-Valley, Monticello, Eldred and Ellenville always struck me as a great way to begin my fall.
Coach Mary Feusner’s tournament had history and class and it was always competitive, impeccably well-run and a great opportunity to see four fine teams in one fell swoop.
Tri-Valley senior Rachel Adriaans heads upfield as Eldred' senior Caitlin Hallock shadows her.
But sadly this year there was no tourney due to the burgeoning size of Division V with its seven teams. That left Class D Family School and Chapel Field with fewer league games as Livingston Manor/Roscoe now joined Eldred, Tuxedo, S.S. Seward, Fallsburg, Chester and Tri-Valley as part of the new “C” scape.
Consequently the vaunted tourney went by the wayside to accommodate the demands of the changing array. I for one, hope to see it return in coming years.
September came and went and racing around trying to keep up with all varsity sports primarily in the five school districts I blanket, I realized that here it was October and that I had yet to see either T-V or Eldred play.
So apologetically I crossed the field as the teams were warming up to say hello Coaches Mary Feusner and Kelly Robertson of T-V and Eldred respectively and to convey my regrets on my tardy arrival to their seasons now at their midpoint.
One quick glance around the field apprised me of just how much talent went out the door last June and the preponderance of younger players inhabiting the pitch. For Eldred the loss of icons like Kim Elvin, Meaghan Hazen, Diana Schombs and Sam Ferguson were made worse this fall by a spate of injuries that have seen season-ending injuries to senior starting keeper Kayla Flieger, junior Kayln Drasher, sophomore Nicole Elvin and freshman Angie Schadt. Another freshman, Lauren Frey is out for a couple of weeks leaving Robertson with a paper thin bench.
“Angie and Lauren played forward in the early part of the season and now we have other people filling in those spots, “Robertson noted.
Luckily Eldred has junior Jackie Terry back now. She was out with an injury too.
Back in action following an injury, Eldred junior Jackie Terry is doing her part to make things happen. Here she sends a ball destined to go out of bounds back up the field.
While a number of Eldred’s current players were on varsity last year, they saw little playing time I the upper-class dominated array of Lady Yellow Jackets. To make matters worse, there is no junior varsity team this year so that valuable training is now being undergone in varsity games against much-more seasoned opponents , especially in schools like Tuxedo, Seward and LMR.
As for Tri-Valley, graduation marked the exit of great talent in Jakki Pugh, Emma Tingley, Kathryn Schneyer and Agnes Pompeii, just to name a few. MIP Caroline Martin transferred to Monticello and did return to T-V, but too late to play this year.
For Feusner, losing dynamic striker/midfielder Katlynn Greffrath to a knee injury has certainly hurt a team already struggling on offense.
But as is the case with all teams, players left in the fold must step up and form the next vanguard. There is no looking back.
Tri-Valley kicked off and Eldred looked to be aggressive early on. Eldred was doing a good job of keeping it in the T-V end. For her part, Schneyer was busy turning it right back upfield. For the first few minutes the ball remained in the T-V end until the Lady Bears made a brief run up the right side that Eldred turned back.
“Nobody’s making runs out there,” barked Feusner. “This is not a game to stand still. Make the runs!”
Around and through: T-V's Mareena DiMilia gets the ball by eldred's Abigail Ellert on her way towards making a breakaway shot on goal.
Eldred senior Breanna Brucher’s shot went wide left. T-V pushed it back and a shot off of the back of Rachel Adriaans was saved by Wilk. The ball went into the Eldred end and they were unable to clear it. A minute later Amanda Tyndell buried one inside the right post at 12:17 for the 1-0 Lady Bears’ lead. The goal was unassisted.
T-V junior Mareena DiMilia had a nice shot but Wilk made a great deflection of the ball for the save.
The Lady Bears kept up the pressure but crosses to Tara Kaplan and Emily DiToro failed to register. When Eldred did advance the ball now, it was quickly turned back. Eldred breakaways up the middle of the field were missing players on the wing and conversely, runs up the sideline were not supported by players in the middle to take the cross.
“We’ve been trying to work on Breanna and Alexis sending balls to the flags and getting our forwards to work it back in but it did not work for us today. I thought we really started out strong today especially with Hannah Bisland going up the line but she had trouble finishing today,” Coach Robertson would later note.
DiMilia began to work a number of breakaways where she would pick up the ball at her own 15 or 20 and use her speed to go around and Eldred defender. Other Lady Yellow Jackets were not coming over to cut off her advance and it was only a matter of time before she would score.
The first half ended with T-V leading 1-0 but DiMilia picked right up where she left off and scored at 4:17 to make it two-zip.
DiToro made it three-nothing with a goal at 28:03 as Tri-Valley appeared far fresher in the second half versus an Eldred team that was showing signs of fatigue.
Eldred senior Breanna Brucher uses her speed to get by Tri-Valley's Tara Kaplan but the Lady Yellowjackets failed to support such runs which faltered throughout the afternoon.
Robertson agree that fatigue was a factor. “They’re running a full 90 minutes without a strong sub for them. With all the rain we’ve been running indoor practices,” she added.
“I am happy with the play that the girls gave their all,” she said though she had told her team at the game’s conclusion that they had failed to capitalize on upwards of 20 shots on goal. Julia Wilk served as keeper the first half and Heather Hallock took over in the second half. “Julia has been my main goalie since Kayla Flieger got hurt. This is Julia’s first year being our main goalie and even though Heather is a ninth grader she seems to have really good skills too. Julia gets pretty big in the goal and our defenders know to back off when she’s got it,” she added.
Eldred is now 1-6-1 (0-6-1 OCIAA).Their win came against Family School and they tied Fallsburg. Tri-Valley improved to 4-6 (2-6 OCIAA). Prior wins came against Family School, Fallsburg and Chapel Field.
Feusner noted, “We played a better second half today. We were down a sub or two so we got everyone involved. I was pleased with the opportunities we had in the box. We didn’t always put the ball in the back of the net but we had lots of opportunities in both halves and we haven’t always had that this year.”
Feusner went on to say, “We’ve been in the defensive end way too much.” Speaking of defense, Feusner had great praise for senior sweeper Sarah Sc hneyer. “You need a strong player at that position and Sarah fits the bill. We tried her at flatback earlier this season and it was working. We were getting a lot of offsides traps but they were telling me they were not comfortable with it if someone got past they didn’t have the confidence to be back there without Sarah.”
Feusner felt her team played well and noted that Mareena DiMilia had one of her best games of the season. Keeper duties were shared by Ashley Exner and Erin Smith. Exner had four saves and Smith had three.
Tri-Valley will host Family School on October 7, while Eldred visits S.S. Seward. T-V and Eldred will meet again under the lights on the Lady Yellow Jackets’ pitch on October 19.
For an album of photos visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
