PINE PLAINS — After celebrating victory after victory on the ball field these past few weeks, the Pine Plains softball 10 and under (10-u) Allstars softball team is now headed to the state championship tournament with their bats at the ready and the Pine Plains community cheering them on.
With Coach Andy Belanger guiding them, the 10-u team is currently comprised of 12 local players. It was only last year that the majority of the team held a softball for the first time, according to Pine Plains Little League Baseball and Softball Program President Rich Tamburrino — today, he said they’re performing at the top level.
“They have shown great skills and pure talent from the top of the line up to the bottom,” Tamburrino said in praise of the young athletes.
As for the coach, on top of all his hard work maintaining the town’s playing fields and helping the Little League Baseball and Softball Committee, Tamburrino spoke highly of Belanger’s excellence and dedication as a coach, saying the team is an extension of Belanger.
Tamburrino reported the team started its playoff run with an undefeated season, taking down teams from LaGrange, Poughkeepsie and Pawling in the process and finishing its regular softball season with a 17-0 record.
Moving into the Allstars games, the team beat Pawling/Dover on Monday, July 5, winning the District 17 Championship. The team then advanced to sectionals where they defeated Indian Valley, 23-3, and then Chatham with a score of 11-4.
As of today, Tamburrino said the team is “the number one seed in Section 2 South.”
It headed to Rochester for the week-long state finals, scheduled for Tuesday, July 20, through Sunday, July 25, with the first few days set aside for a round robin to determine seeding, followed by semifinal/final elimination rounds.
Praising each and every player on the team for their athleticism, talents and teamwork, Tamburrino said, “All of these girls are hard workers and you can see that at practice. They come early and, to the parents’ dismay, stay late. They are hungry for competition and look forward to playing good teams at the State Championship Tournament. They look at how hard it will be to win states and smile right back.”
The girls themselves said they were very excited about their success this season and the prospect of going to states.
Proud of their softball team for their feats on the field, the Pine Plains community rallied behind the girls to help them get to the states on a high note. Realizing the team was short of funds to get to Rochester to compete at the state level, The Stissing Center performing arts center launched a fundraiser to help raise the $10,000 needed to cover lodging costs during the tournament. The players’ parents and coaches paid to cover the costs of food and travel.
Any funds raised in excess of the lodging costs will go to the Pine Plains Recreation Department to help fund the construction of new softball dugouts.
As a credit to the community spirit of Pine Plains — not to mention the town’s love of all things softball and baseball — in two days, The Stissing Center announced it had reached its fundraising goal with local businesses collecting money in cash jars.
As posted in her recent town newsletter, Pine Plains town Supervisor and fervent cheerleader Darrah Cloud remarked it was the cash jar at the Platter that helped them reach the goal.
Thanking the town of its terrific support, Cloud wrote, “You continue to be the small town where people take care of each other. Play ball, Pine Plains!”
Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.L. Tomaino 
