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Diamond deliverance

Sullivan West advances via Liz Reeves' eighth inning RBI

Richard A. Ross
Posted 5/26/23

JEFFERSONVILLE – The long drought was finally over.

It had been six years since the Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs were in Sectionals, and the Westies were one out away from dancing off the …

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Diamond deliverance

Sullivan West advances via Liz Reeves' eighth inning RBI

Posted

JEFFERSONVILLE – The long drought was finally over.

It had been six years since the Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs were in Sectionals, and the Westies were one out away from dancing off the field with a 4-1 win over the Millbrook Lady Blazers when things took a dramatic turn. 

Sullivan West junior hurler Liz Reeves had turned in a gem thus far, allowing only one run in 6 2/3 innings when lead off batter Jordan Kaan smacked a single that just grazed over the glove of shortstop Georgeanne Cardona into left field. 

A subsequent triple by Millie Molella plated the first run of the inning. A single by Shannon Grey brought in the second run and triple by Dani Heady tied the game up at 4-all. 

Reeves induced a ground out to stop the bleeding, but clearly the atmosphere had changed.

Reeves drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh and subsequently got to second on a passed ball but there she was stranded. The game went into extra innings, but Reeves got a 1-2-3 in the eighth via two infield pop fly outs and a strike out. 

The feisty Westies were determined to pen their playoff victory and in the bottom of the eighth, they did just that. 

A leadoff single by Kaitlyn Drobysh started the fire. She got to second on a passed ball. But then two fly outs left it up to Cardona who drew a walk before Reeves smacked a line drive into right field to plate the winning run. 

Hugs, smiles and laughter erupted for the 8-8 Lady Bulldogs while the Lady Blazers retired to right field to remind themselves how hard a game they played. They ended their season at 3-9 and as coach Joe Grey noted, “It was hard to get players to come out this year. The team was inexperienced, and they were learning as the season went along.” 

Millbrook had scored first as an E-6 turned into a run behind a Molella single. But after that it was goose eggs induced by Reeves from the second through the sixth as Sullivan West used fine fielding and great pitching to keep the Blazers at bay. 

The Lady Bulldogs tied it in the bottom of the first when a leadoff walk and a stolen base allowed Cardona’s ground out to bring the run home. They added two more runs in the second to make it 3-1. 

In the bottom of the sixth they added what might have been the insurance run as Brianna Haass drove in Lanie Herbert who had belted a triple to lead off the sixth. That made it 4-1 and all that was needed was three final outs. 

Well, they got two before the dam broke and those three Millbrook runs came in. But as the Shakespearean title informs, “All’s well, that ends well.” And so, it did. 

Sullivan West advanced to play at juggernaut #1-seeded Pine Plains. Six years ago, the Westies ended their season there behind a 16-0 drubbing. Thus ensued the drought. 

This year’s team having broken through that long arid passage, looked forward to the trip and hoped to do better, but came up short in a 7-0 final. 

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