Delaware Valley Little Fellows League All-Star Game

The South rises again

It’s all about fun as DVLFL all-stars delight the throngs of summer

By RICHARD A. ROSS and PETER PIERCE

COCHECTON CENTER, NY - A lot has changed in the world since the Delaware Valley Little Fellows League staged its first all-star game in 1959. But around the baseball diamond, things are nostalgically familiar.

It’s hot dogs, cheers, little kids holding some mighty big bats and, of course, landslides of runs.

All-star games are exhibitions in which the idea is to get notable players at bats and take the field. Few remember what the score was after the game, especially if it wasn’t close. Ask people what happened last year or the year before and they just smile and shrug their shoulders.

So, the simple score reporting of this year’s game says little about the sheer joy experienced by the kids this season. For them, the game and the atmosphere will become part of their enduring memory when stepping up to the plate to hit that ball was the most important moment right then.

Years later, when lives are far more complex and harried, many will look back and encourage their own children to join the never-ending ranks of players who revel in America’s pastime.

This year, the South all-stars, comprised of players from the 2007 champion Cochecton Center Giants, along with the Narrowsburg Braves and Dodgers, handily defeated the North team, made up of stars from the Damascus, PA Mets and Cardinals, along with the Cochecton Phillies. Last year, it was the North that prevailed, but in recent years, the South has held sway more times than not, and this year it reasserted its position as all-star winner.

This year’s fray was a close match up in the first three innings. Then, the South broke it open in the bottom of the fourth inning and never looked back.

Led by South pitchers Drew Billard and Patrick Pierce, the North was held scoreless for the final four innings, while the South’s tally rose with ongoing fervor.

Following the game, trophies were handed out to the league-winning teams, as well as the all-stars. The final trophies were handed out to the MVPs of the all-star game. From the North team, the honor went to Drew Ott, and from the South that distinction was accorded to Patrick Pierce.

Watching the smiling faces of the young players from the sidelines was a joy to see. Everyone got a chance to play. A few demonstrated the kind of good fundamental skills that will be honed further as they grow up to join the Teeners’ League and, perhaps, delight home crowds as they star on their high school teams.

In a world beset by troubles and problems that sometimes seem so daunting, it’s a welcome relief to watch the wholesome and simple pleasures wrought by a hometown little league game.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of game pictures.