JEFFERSONVILLE. NY — “This has been an awesome group of girls,” said Sullivan West’s long-standing varsity softball coach Anthony Durkin. This was moments after the Lady Bulldogs anchored the team’s spot in the upcoming sectional finals.

In the semifinal matchup, held on Thursday, May 29, the home team swatters (11-1) defeated the visiting Lady Blue Devils of Ellenville 6-1 at Lauren Hughson Memorial Field.

Heaping on the praise for this season’s softball squad, Durkin talked about his team. It is composed mostly of juniors, with nary a senior on the roster. “These guys just love to play softball, and they surpassed a lot of our expectations.”

Demonstrating once again that ballplayers and their coaches can be a superstitious lot, Durkin sported a baby-blue T-shirt proclaiming that the team of a few years past were “2017  Undefeated Division Champions.” It proudly listed the players’ names and jersey numbers.

And now, in 2025, both teams traded runs in the third frame, but after that it was all Sullivan West. The Lady Bulldogs posted another run in the fifth, and closed it out in the sixth with four runners crossing the plate.

Previously on the road to victory, Sullivan West defeated the Lady Blue Devils (7-7) 8-6 on May 20 at Ellenville.

This season, the home-team battery is made up of Mary Chellis, a sophomore hurler and Rowan Hubbert, a freshman catcher.

“It’s a great team to be part of, and I’m really proud of where we’re going,” said Chellis, the home team’s 15-year-old starter on the mound. “A lot of us have been together since Little League, and this is the year we’ve been waiting for.”

“It’s a lot more challenging than junior varsity,” said Hubbert, the 13-year-old starting varsity catcher for Sullivan West. “It’s fun being with all the girls.”

With the continued onslaught of rainy weather lashing the region, Saturday’s Section IX softball championship game between Sullivan West and the Lady Huskies of Highland was postponed until Sunday, June 1. The game will be held at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY. 

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