For five years, Massena softball and Susan Reid were synonymous.
Reid was an ever-present force on the field for the Red Raiders from 1987-91. Opponents couldn't hit her, and they could barely get her out at the plate.
Reid was built for her position. Tall, with long arms and large hands, she could generate exceptional speed on her pitches, which batters couldn't touch.
During her high school career, she threw 11 no-hitters. She once struck out 18 batters in a game, one of only five area pitchers to do that in the last 20 years. She led Massena to the state semifinals in 1988. Then, in her senior season, she pitched two no-hitters, posted a 1.15 earned-run average, went 17-1, and led the Red Raiders to the state Class B championship game.
Massena won five league titles and four sectional championships with Reid on the mound.
Reid was so dominant on the softball mound that it's easy to forget that she excelled in a variety of sports.
She starred in soccer and basketball for Massena and also played volleyball. She was offered a scholarship to play ice hockey, as well as softball, at Providence College, but turned it down to focus on softball with NCAA Division III power Ithaca.
In a little more than two seasons with the Ithaca Bombers, she started 25 games, compiling a 16-7 record and 2.55 earned-run average. She struck out 99 batters in 145 1/3 innings and batters hit just .218 against her. She also hit .348 in 181 at-bats.
She graduated from Ithaca with a degree in physical education and later received a master's degree from SUNY Potsdam.
Reid returned to the north country to coach and teach at Brushton-Moira and St. Lawrence Central. Then she took over for her old high school coach, Dave MacLennan, leading the Massena softball team.
Reid, a member of Massena's athletic hall of fame, is now the athletic director for Haldane High School in Cold Spring, which is just south of Newburgh. Haldane won the state Class C girls basketball championship last month, when it defeated Section 10's Madrid-Waddington 46-36.
In fact, Reid's job presented an interesting rooting problem for her father, Gregg. Gregg Reid is a graduate of Madrid-Waddington.
To read about previous selections to the Times' list of the North Country's Greatest 100 Athletes of All-Time, log on to www.watertowndailytimes.com.
