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June 28, 2007
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June 28, 2007 |
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sports
T-ball kids drenched in love Every Friday night after t-ball I walk away amazed. What a program. What a town! There are, first of all, of course, all those amazing, astonishing, breathtakingly beautiful children, those phenomenal, often hilarious, always vigorous, mostly innocent, wild, wild children — such as the wonder boy Ethan (6) and his lovely little sister Emily (2) Pogue, or the raucous Riley (5) and his mild-mannered little brother Matthew (3) Duncan; the jubilant Jonah Kintner (3); the irrepressible Isaiah “Wild Man” Crawford (4); the delicate and smiling Cheyan Sundel-Turner (2); the natural athlete Luka Sage-Frabotta (2); the strong, handsome, very bright Eamonn Devine (4); the most lovely Eliza (2-and-three-quarters) and her baby brother (he’s only 7-months-old!) Miles Gilchrist; the fleet-footed Nathan (6) and his agile little sister Lisa (3) Ciric-Bales; the charming Camryn Strolger (3); and the spirited Russell Nelson-Besson (2). But what makes me really love and appreciate this town, and what first alerted me to the fact that the village’s reputation — for being unique, diverse and especially tolerant — was for real, are the adults involved in the program. And if you came out to Gaunt Park like I have for 10 Friday nights every summer since the days of the Civil War, you’d see it, too: how we adults out here all love these, our children. How the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews all step up and say, “Yes! Yes, we love these little toddlers, these pre-schoolers, these brave and remarkable kids in their middle childhood years (6–10 year olds). Yes! Yes, we want them to live in a world where they’ll know a lot of joy, be drenched in love; where they’ll feel and be safe; where patience is the watchword; where joy is abounding; where kindness is the norm; where being silly is perfectly okay.” And that’s our t-ball program, where every week you’ll run into people like the perfect t-ball parent-volunteer-coach Lindsey Hardman and her vivacious and gracious sister volunteer-coach Heather Bacon. Or people like the lively, passionate, beaming, and loving Layla Nelson. Or folks like the three-ring circus, a man of deep joy, Matt Minde. Or men like the wonderfully kind and very generous Brian Walker. Or men like the very positive, powerfully caring, perfect parent-coach, Steve Bleything. Or like that radiant Ms. Organizer-par excellance, the laughing joyful, perfect parent-coach Cary Johnson — accompanied this year by her fantastic and terrifically talented partner and spouse, volunteer coach Jeremy Johnson. Plus there’s the steady warmth and friendliness of our long-time helper Ron Lewis (whose older son, the calm, handsome, naturally athletic Fielding became a helper this year, too, coming on the diamond to aid his little brother, Fisher). And Callie Cary’s another perfect t-ball mom with her lively, dynamic, laughing, leaping, peripatetic ways; and so, too, her sidekick, the smooth, observant, warm and smiling Bob Devine. To say nothing of my long-term partners, Chris Murphy and Susan Hyde, both going on 20 years of service to the Perry League and Yellow Springs’ t-ball program — Chris, the very model of reasonableness, a patient man who creates order, thank you, while Susan’s magnanimous, charitable heart matches her resolve to do good — both of them stalwarts, indispensable to our success every Friday night. Okay, take a deep breath, because there’s more. Such as the wonderful, generous, inimitable, and brilliant “she-can-understand-every-kid’s-little-kid-I-don’t-speak-so-clearly-yet” pronunciations of their own names — the stupendous Teresa Wagner. Such as the dedicated, glamorous, and joyful Cindy Sieck. Or another beauty, the healthy, hearty, happy-go-lucky Lucinda “You-can-call-me-Cindy” Yeagle. Or, speaking of beauties, there’s the animated and delightful Deb Housh, who brings Tyson’s grandpa Ken to help throw out balls (“It’s great, isn’t it?” I say when the evening ends. “Yes,” he says, “it’s cool.”) So, when you grow up in a dysfunctional, alcoholic, broken family like I did, with a father too sick, too narcissistic, to give his love, a mother sickened and beaten by her love of and loyalty to such a man; when you’ve been shipped off to foster homes not as safe as they could be; and then shipped off again to a home for homeless boys, an institution both wonderful and horrible, like I was, then this little t-ball world of exuberance, of unabashed lovingness, of joy and generosity, of patience and kindness — well, it’s healing. And for that, I thank you. And that’s our Perry League, Yellow Springs’ exuberant, loving, and healing t-ball program welcoming all our community’s children ages 2–9 regardless of race, color or creed. We’re at Gaunt Park every Friday night from 6:30–8 p.m., trying to be as sweet and patient and loving as we can. Children can begin to play at anytime and there’s no requirement to come every week — come when you like, come when you can. We’ll be out there doing what we do for the next six Friday nights, till our final potluck trophy-to-every-kid-who-shows-up night, Aug. 3. So why don’t you come on out and join us? Give a little of your love? Spread it around? We’d love it if you did, we most certainly would. Indians, Pirates tied in Minors The Indians and the Pirates were tied for first place in the Minor League after the second full week of play last week. The Pirates pitched a strong defensive battle to improve their record to 4–2 overall with a 3–1 win over the Yankees on Monday, June 18. Kaner Butler scored first for the Pirates after hitting a leadoff double and scoring on a base hit by Isaiah Taylor. Veteran Molly Brown picked up a pair of RBIs when she smacked a base hit in the fourth inning that scored the winning runs. Kennedy Butler and Augie Knemeyer were both on base after each hit, their second single in as many trips to the plate. Aaron Sherwood went three for three and scooped up as many infield hits for put outs at first. Nate Baggett threw out a pair of runners as well. The Yankees’ run came from Chelsea Horton, who scored off a sacrifice by Cameron Croft in the third inning. Meanwhile, Jaron Fox and Chandler Gillium both went two for two. On Wednesday, June 20, the Indians pushed their record to 3–1 with a 13–4 win over the Dragons. The Indians played a great game with contributions from just about everyone. Meanwhile for the Dragons, Zane Pergram, Tony Marinelli, Eric Lawhorn, and Aman Ngakayi all had hits and scored. Grant Reigelsperger went two for two, as did Jake Savage, Danny Grote and Tony Marinelli. The action on Saturday, June 23, began with the Pirates pounding out 27 hits in a 15–4 win over the Reds. Kaner Butler and Sherwood led the charge, both going four for four and scoring 3 runs each, with Kennedy Butler also adding 3 RBIs. Devon Perry also added a run after going four for four at the plate, including his first triple. Isaiah Taylor and Nathan Miller each had three hits, scored 3 runs and knocked in three others. Brianna Ayers added the other run after hitting three base hits of her own, while veteran Sharde’ Scott went two for three. The Reds were led by Joey Flores, who went two for two and scored twice. The second game Saturday resulted in a 17–9 win for the Yankees over the Dragons. Ian Chick, Joe Thorpe and Chelsea Horton went three for four and scored 3 runs each. Jacob Whetsel scored 3 runs and went three for three with two triples and a home run. Chandler Gillium went two for four and scored twice, while Olivia Greco and siblings Zoey and Kenny McKinley each also added a run. For the Dragons, Teran Pergram was one for three and scored a run while playing excellent defense. Sam Salazar went three for three and scored twice, including a home run. Eric Lawhorn added another home run. The Yankees finished the week at 3–2, while the Dragons fell to 2–3. The Reds, at 0–4, are due any day now for their first big win. For more information go to www.htosports.com/YSMINORLEAGUE. A hard week for the Bulldogs The Bulldogs faced an unfamiliar team Wednesday night at Gaunt Park — the Patterson Park Bulls — and hope to never see them again. In an effort to save over-worked and injured starting pitchers, the coaches started Jack Daily but with a year off the mound, he was just too rusty to withstand the heavy hitting Bulls. In the first inning, the Bulls, one shy of getting through the lineup twice, scored an overwhelming 14 runs. Lucas Donnell was brought in to get the final out and he and Jarrett Moon completed the five-inning run rule defeat, giving up only 1 additional unearned run. The only offensive bright spot for the Bulldogs came in the first inning when aggressive base running allowed Andrew Ferguson, who reached on a walk, to score. The rain on Friday made Gaunt Park just sticky enough to force cancellation of the night game but there was no rest for the Dogs, who traveled to Springboro for a 10 a.m. game on Saturday. Springboro hitters started hot with a single and two doubles, scoring 3 off starter Ferguson but he was able to stop it at that and go on to pitch one more strong inning. The Dogs’ bats got hot in the second when Daily and Anthony Pettiford scored on a double from Ethan Brown. Aggressive base running by Ferguson brought him in to score in both the fifth and seventh but that was the extent of the Bulldog offense. Brown relieved in the third and fourth, giving up 1 run with Donnell completing the last two innings. The final score of the game was Springboro 9, Bulldogs 4. MLS summer Web site Mills Lawn families and staff are invited to send their photos of summer in Yellow Springs, camp, family vacation trips, etc. to post on the MLS Web site. They will be posted on the school’s Web site all summer long. Last summer the Web site posted 70 vacation photos e-mailed from members of the MLS school family. To find out how to submit summer vacation photos, visit the Mills Lawn School Web site at http://www.yellow-springs.k12.oh.us/ys-mls/.
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