PV Snags River & Valley Cup from Philipstown

All PVBA and PLL Minor Leaguers and their coaches pose after the opening game of the River & Valley Cup Series between the two organizations last Sunday in Cold Spring. Little Leaguers generally have big dreams. They meander about the baseball diamond with delusions of grandeur, dreaming of a bigleague future. They crack their bare fists into a pound of premium steerhide in the hopes of gaining an edge over the kids in the other dugout. Luckily, Little Leaguers are also the first ones to forget about a win or a loss; their innocence forbids them from taking a game too seriously.

That's the beauty of Little League baseball: the kids themselves taking the game as seriously as it has to be taken, and then letting go in time to play again tomorrow. Usually, when you hear bad things about the Little League experience, some nut-job parent is smack dab in the middle of another whack-job saga being played out on diamonds across the globe, getting in the way of an otherwise glorious interaction between families and friends.

Luckily, the bad apples were nowhere to be found last Sunday in Cold Spring at Mayor's Park and the Haldane High softball fields in the breathtaking village along the shores of the majestic Hudson River. That's where the Philipstown Little League (PLL) played host to the second annual River & Valley All-Star Cup Challenge between the PLL and the Putnam Valley Baseball Association (PVBA). If you stuck around for all three games, the Minors All-Stars (10-U), the Majors All-Stars (12-U), and the Coaches (over-the-hill gang) Challenge, you felt the love on a local level and you saw Putnam Valley snag the River & Valley Cup for the for the first time.

PVBA and PLL Major Leaguers pose after their River & Valley Cup Series clash last Sunday in Cold Spring. The PVBA went on to claim the 2nd annual title for the 1st time by taking two of three games, despite losing the Majors game. The beauty of this day, though, lay not in who won or lost the Cup, but how friendships were both struck and rekindled despite the 14,086 acres of Fahnestock State Park woods that separate the two towns. There were some awe-inspiring performances to say the least; like the one turned in by Philipstown pitcher Jay Marchese, the RHP who whiffed 13 PVBA batters en route to a 6-0 Major league win.

Many of the coaches and players from the PVBA and PLL gather after the River & Valley Cup series. PV won two of three games including the Coaches Challenge, which enabled the PVBA to snatch the Cup from Philipstown for at least one year. Photo Nanci Ferrarro The day was all about pitching, just as it usually is when it comes to Little League baseball. Putnam Valley saw 10-year-old Jake Reyes strike out eight batters over three innings to lead his team to a 12-0 Minors victory, which left it up to the hackneyed coaches to produce a River & Valley champion this season. Turns out, the PVBA coaches can hit some, as they scored another 12 runs to support winning pitcher Dave Mucci, who, despite attempts to look like Richard Gere on the hill, was able to hurl an arc-ball shutout… a rare occurrence on any day.

A barbeque pit roared all day and there were tasty salads and plenty of refreshments on the first true day of summer, as the skies produced brilliant sunshine and mid-80 temps on a simply glorious day. It was the kind of day PVBA Commissioner Ray Gallagher and PLL President Ed Barry dreamt up a little over a year ago when the duo first broached the notion of getting the two organizations together.

PVBA OF Kevin Bomba slides in safely ahead of the tag from PLL 3B Nicholas DiPalo in the opening-game of the River & Valley Cup Series between the two organizations last Sunday in Cold Spring. The PVBA went on to claim the 2nd annual title for the 1st time by taking two of three games. "It was a perfect day," Barry said. "We have so many people to thank. I want to thank Dain's Lumber for donating the barbeque pit you see behind me. I need to thank the Haldane School District for allowing us to use the field. I want to thank my wife Bernadette, who did all the cooking with Jeanie and Tom and Carol McCullough and Tom Campbell. Basically, everybody on the Philipstown Little League Board needs to be thanked, and of course the folks of Putnam Valley for coming over here and helping provide such a great experience for the kids."

PVBA pitcher Chris Costello lets a pitch fly in the River & Valley Cup Series between the PVBA and PLL organizations last Sunday in Cold Spring. The PVBA went on to claim the 2nd annual title for the 1st time by taking two of three games. The kids were, and always are, the best part. When the Minors game had ended, the Philipstown kids were cool enough to forget about their loss while leading the Putnam Valley contingent to the lower field for an hour of kickball. Later, when Philipstown had put the Majors win under its belt, and the day shifted to Mayor's Park for the Coaches Challenge, the kids continued to play football for another couple of hours. The day began at 11am and the final game ended just before 6pm, but a good time was had at the Mayor's Park pavilion for at least another two hours.

"This is a great idea," said Ronnie Ferraro, a PVBA coach and commission member, who reminisced with PLL Coach Billy Irwin about a player named John Rotondo from Yorktown High, while not knowing he was sitting right next to him. "I didn't even know I'm sitting here with a guy who was a legend back in the day. We looked up to this cat. He was like Scooter Rizzuto at shortstop, a classic. The whole day has been classic."

Rotondo coached the PLL Majors and still picked a mean shortstop in the Coaches Challenge, but he never knew he had a fan club way back when. The organizers of the affair were truly delighted with the way the day had played out and openly discussed the idea of doing similar things with other sports like basketball and lacrosse in the near future.

"It's a tremendous boost for both programs and both communities," Barry said. "To see the camaraderie of both clubs is great and it's evident once you see the games are over and the kids are still playing with each other hours after it's over, playing kickball and other games together. To have two neighboring towns in Putnam County get together like this every year is something special."

PVBA Commissioner Gallagher also had a ton of people to thank for making 2009 the most successful year on record for the PVBA, including his wife, Nikki, the families of Irv Bomba, Tom Patterson, Kevin Gallagher, Joe Nolan, Rick Anderson, Ed Lent, Steve Girvalo, Josh Reyes, and Ferraro.

"I know Philipstown tried to one-up us this year by getting Nick 'DJ Nasty' Nastasi to spin some tunes on us, but we'll make sure we have a live performance from Ronnie Ferraro next year," Gallagher joked. "Our people can't thank the Philipstown Little League enough for a great, great day. They were wonderful hosts and a great bunch of volunteers. And I'll make a point of making sure we expand this deal to include basketball this coming winter."

Sounds like we're on to something here.

Please visit www.directrays. com to view Section 1 sports photo galleries and a gallery from the River & Valley Cup Series.

Photos by Ray Gallagher