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The Week That Was in Philipstown: All-Star 9/10 Softball
by Evan Thompson
It all began at 7pm on Wednesday, June 11 - the first practice for the Philipstown 9/ 10-year-old Softball All- Starts… Thirteen girls gathered on the 9D field to learn the fundamentals of softball - throwing, catching, hitting and running the bases - under the direction of Manager Rob McCollum, assisted by Mike Monteleone and Evan Thompson.
Seven of the girls were 4thgraders who had only played minor softball, where the coaches pitch and players are only allowed to advance one base at a time. The rest of the team was composed of 5th graders who had only one season of real softball experience under their belts.
After practicing 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, for the next 3 weeks, the team arrived in Hyde Park with nervous anticipation on Wednesday July 9 for their first experience with tournament play. Coaches and players alike had little idea what to expect in a contest with a team from a Class A School District.
Philipstown came flying out of the gate with two quick runs in the top of the first inning. But sky-high hopes crashed to the ground as Hyde Park pounded out ten runs in the bottom of the first.
Coach McCollum challenged the girls to win one inning at a time and try to get back into the game. Pitcher Fiona Mueller, brought in at the end of the first, held Hyde Park scoreless over the next three innings, and Philipstown stormed back with 3 runs in the fourth and eight in the fifth, highlighted by the speedy baserunning of Kaitlyn Philips. Going into the bottom of the sixth, Philipstown held a 13- 12 lead! But, in a heartbreaker, with two outs, the Hyde Park bats came alive and the winning run was scored on a booming triple to left. It was a crushing blow after such a courageous comeback, but the team had learned never to give up.
Two nights later, the girls arrived in Poughkeepsie faced with the possibility of playing their last game in this double elimination tournament. It was a seesaw battle from the beginning with neither team able to control play. Samantha Ricketts, pitching for the first time ever, performed admirably, holding the Poughkeepsie team to 3 runs over the first 4 innings. In taking over in the 5th, Alex Monteleone managed to shut down Poughkeepsie, but not before they tied the score at 7-7. Expert play from fielders Julia Olsen and Bailey McCollum sent the game into extra innings. In the top of the 7th, Clara Thompson led off with a walk, stole second and third and scored the go ahead run on a fielder's choice. Fiona Mueller then delivered the big blow with a two-run single to right. Poughkeepsie managed to scratch out one more run, but Monteleone closed out the game in spectacular fashion with three strikeouts.
On Sunday, July 13, the Philipstown and Poughkeepsie teams faced off again, both threatened with tournament elimination. By rule, Philipstown was left with only one eligible pitcher, Fiona Mueller, and she and first-year catcher Rebecca Yodice would have to go the distance. After leftfielder Sara Labriola's big sister Lindy and mom Stacy sang the national anthem, Philipstown broke out on top, led by the daredevil baserunning of Bailey McCollum. Mueller cruises through the first two innings, but Poughkeepsie struck hard in the 3rd with 7 runs, carrying a 9-5 lead into the 5th. Learning their lesson from the Hyde Park game, the Philipstown girls never gave up and scored 5 runs in the 5th, with solid contributions by Melissa Tringali, Sara Procario and Marissa DiPalo, who notched her first base hit in her first at bat in the tournament. Mueller steadied herself and with an awesome defense at her back, closed out the game for Philipstown's second win.
Two victories in one week somehow seemed to make the girls forget all the hours of practice through the brutal July sun and June thunderstorms. It was a tremendous accomplishment beyond the wildest expectations of ay of the coaches or participants and it bodes well for the future of Philipstown softball.
The next game for the girls was to be held on Tuesday, July 15 in LaGrange with results in too late for this edition, but hopefully with some more good news for next week's.
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