MIDDLETOWN, NY — Where’s there’s smoke, there’s always fire!

The state’s top dog in NYSPHSAA Class D softball did it again for three years in a row, as they defeated their rivals 5-3 in a game that was decided in the seventh inning.

The Lady Lumberjacks of Deposit took to the field as the state’s two-time defending champs, while the Eldred Lady Yellow Jackets saw their season come to a heartbreaking close.

Both softball teams came to play as their sectional gold medalists, as Deposit wore the Section IX crown and Eldred was the Section IX winner.

In 2015 and 2016, Deposit defeated Eldred by some pretty impressive numbers: 14-3 and 8-0 respectively in the quarterfinals.

But then came 2017, and both squads showed they came to play right out of the starting box and were not ready to go quietly into the night.

Deposit posted the first run of the game in the opening frame while Eldred tied it up 1-1 in the bottom of the third.

In the top of the fourth, Deposit’s catcher Bryn Martin was caught between the hot corner and second, and in a hotly disputed call, was initially called out, but in the wake of a consultation by the powers that rule the field, was ruled safe.

And the game played on.

In the sixth and final innings, the defending champs posted two runs each to make it a 5-1 ballgame, and considering the late-game score, a lot of teams would have retired their the bats.

But the Lady Yellow Jackets took to the field in the bottom of the seventh with a “never-say-quit” attitude and almost staged the upset of the season as their pitcher Jordan Lepes opened up with her second hit of the game and Kass Weatherly slashed a double.

Kelsey Morgan’s groundout sent Lepes home, and Katie Innella swatted an RBI to score Weatherly.

But that was all she wrote, as Deposit’s star pitcher sophomore Mackenzie Stiles sent Eldred back to their seats for the last three outs of the game.

In the final accounting, Deposit had five runs off nine hits, while Eldred posted three runs on four swats.

In an interesting sidebar, the Lady Lumberjacks went down in the record books this year with a sister act, as a trio of siblings proudly donned the school colors: 10th-grader Bryn Martin, junior Kyra Martin, and Mikayla Martin, a senior.

Eldred coach Ryan Jasper sang the praises of his starting hurler.

“Jordan Lepes is our rock star, our dominant player,” he said, noting that the graduating senior is headed off to play the games of hoops for Division III Rowan College.

“She pitched her butt off today… she always shows up for games like this and plays phenomenal.”

Lepes’s take on her last high school softball outing?

“It’s a really heartbreaking feeling,” said the 17-year-old.

“I’m very proud of the girls and how far we’ve come… in the last games, we’ve become so close as a team.”

Members of the Eldred varsity softball team were the only Sullivan County swatters to make it past sectional competition, a not-so-small feather in their caps.

Lady Lumberjacks coach Dan Briggs summed up the win.

“One through nine can really hit the ball someplace… we came out hitting.”

What about the opposition?

“Eldred made some fantastic plays defensively… they kept batting through and came up with a couple of big hits, and at the end a couple of runs.”

Deposit’s winning pitcher Makenzie Stiles is 16-year-old sophomore, known for her hurling style of “where there’s smoke, there’s gotta be fire.”

“We came out strong… kept faith in each other and supported each other,” said Stiles.

For the Lady Yellow Jackets, it was the season’s curtain call, while for the Lady Lumberjacks it was a chance to take center stage at the upcoming state championships.