JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — It’s sort of a tradition in softball and baseball. When a batter is at the plate, and passes on a pitch that’s way off the target zone or is an obvious attempt to lure the swatter into taking a sucker swing, their teammates and hometown fans yell “Good eye, good eye” as a reward for not taking a poke in vain.

That was the case all through the game on April 25, as the home team Lady Bulldogs of Sullivan West (2-4) took on the Livingston Manor Lady Wildcats (3-4) in a non-league game at Lauren Hughson Field.

Manor drew first blood in the opening frame by scoring 3 runs, and in the bottom of the second, Sullivan West tied it up 3-3. But in the top of the third, the Lady Wildcats sent a trio of runners across the plate to take a 6-3 lead.

Each squad posted a run the following two innings to make it an 8-5 contest. In the sixth, the Lady Bulldogs added a run, so the final count was an 8-6 win for the visitors.

Manor posted 8 runs on 35 at-bats, with 12 hits and 6 RBIs, and 3 errors, while Sullivan West racked up 6 runs on 31 at-bats, with 7 hits and 5 RBIs, and 5 errors.

A pitcher’s pitcher. Mackenzie Carlson, starting pitcher for the Lady Wildcats.

Early in the game, Jane Carlson, the grandmother of Manor’s starting pitcher, and husband Guy watched the battle.

“That’s my granddaughter out there,” said Carlson of the 17-year old senior, Mackenzie Carlson. According to Livingston Manor and Roscoe’s athletic director Dave Eggleton, Mackenzie will be honored on May 30 at a signing ceremony to play softball for Oswego State College.

“She’s played softball since Little League, and also plays on traveling teams,” said the elder Carlson. About the importance of sports in high school education, she said, “I think it helps them in other areas of their lives, like structure, doing something you like and having plans for the future… We’re proud of her and enjoy watching her play.”

Sullivan West’s varsity softball coach, Anthony Durkin, summed up the new season and the game. “We’re getting better, and Manor was a great team to play… 8-6 is a good softball game, and we’re coming together.”

He noted that the day before, the Lady Bulldogs defeated Chapel Field 8-0.

Sullivan West rotates the role of captain between the seniors, with Georgeanne Cardona his “solid senior captain.”

Manor takes to the field this year with senior Mackenzie Carlson, Ashlee Ladenhauf and Jocelyn Mills, while the leadership role of captain goes to Carlson.

“It was a well-played game, (but) I thought we gave them a lot of runs on a lot of errors,” said Lady Wildcats coach Nick Wyss. He added that a goal for the team is a repeat as Section IX Class champs.

His take of their starting hurler?

“She’s a great kid, with a work ethic like no other, and has been on varsity since the eighth or ninth grade,” replied Wyss.

Fact: Softball was known in its early days as “kitten ball.”