PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Berkshire Force 12-and-under softball team opened play in the Babe Ruth New England Regional with two very different games that one very important thing in common: Each was a Force victory to give the home team the top seed going into Sunday morning’s semi-finals.
Michaela Hinckley and Amdanda Pou combined on a one-hitter in Berkshire’s 2-0 win over Burlington, Mass., in Saturday’s opener.
In the afternoon, Mia Arpante did not allow any hits in an 11-1, four-inning win over Auburn, Maine.
The victories mean that the Force will host the tourney’s fourth seed at 9 a.m. Sunday in an elimination game to get to the 2 p.m. Championship at Doyle Field.
Teams from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut are competing in five different age groups over three days this weekend, seeking a berth in the Babe Ruth World Series.
The host Force entered two teams in the regional: the 12U and 10U squads. The younger squad Saturday afternoon beat Raynham, Mass., 12-2, to win their best-of-three series, 2-0, and claim the New England Regional crown.
A.J. Pelkey went 2-for-3 with a home run, and Mia DeJesus and Madison Barber each tripled in the win for the 10U squad.
Berkshire’s Gionnah LeVardi struck out 10 in the regional title-clinching win.
The Force’s U10 team includes: Mariah Barnes, Jaezsa Bartolotta, Chelsea Capitanio, Kylie Duhamel, Madeline Harrington, Evelyn Julieano, Grace Julieano, Lillian MacDonald, Izabela Miller and Ella Stodden.
The defending regional champion Berkshire Force 12U squad sat out Friday’s action as this year’s regional got underway but wasted no time doing damage on Saturday morning.
In the top of the second against Burlington, Hickley drew a one-out walk, moved up on a wild pitch and an error and scored on a wild pitch to give herself a 1-0 lead.
In the circle, she surrendered just one hit in four innings of work. It came with two out in the bottom of the second and was followed by a walk and a wild pitch to give Burlington two runners in scoring position. But Hinckley got the next hitter to ground back to the circle, ending the threat.
Hinckely retired the side in order the next two innings, getting some help from catcher Isabella McDonald, who threw out a runner attempting to steal second in the bottom of the third.
In the top of the fourth, Pou scored after drawing a two-out walk. She stole second and came home when Arpante reached on an outfield error to make it 2-0.
Pou then went to the circle to finish the game. She earned four strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth, K’ing each batter she faced, including the one who reached on a passed ball.
In the sixth, Pou closed the game and a 1-2-3 inning with a swinging strike to protect the two-run margin.
While offense was hard to come by in the morning, Berkshire rolled up at least two runs in each inning of its afternoon contest against Auburn.
Audrina Maloney delivered the big blow early with a triple to right-center that scored Arpante in the top of the first. Maloney came home on a groundout by McDonald to make it 2-0.
Berkshire added four in the second thanks to singles from Paxton Ebling and Pou and a couple of Auburn errors.
The visitors used a walk, a stolen base, a groundout and a passed ball to pick up an unearned run against Arpante in the bottom of the second, closing to within 6-1.
But Berkshire added three in the third.
Cheyenne Goddard led off with a walk, stole second and came home on a couple of wild pitches. Brianna Lynch earned a one-out walk, moved up on a groundout and Pou’s single up the middle and scored on Arpante’s infield single.
Pou went to third on that single and scored on a wild pitch to push the lead to 9-1.
In the fourth, Maloney and McDonald each singled to start a two-run rally that pushed the lead to 10 runs, bringing the mercy rule into play.
Auburn got a runner to first with one out in the bottom of the fourth, though, thanks to a passed ball on a third strike, a sacrifice bunt and a stolen base.
But Arpante got the second out on a swinging strike and the final out on a groundout to wrap things up.
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Berkshire United Way to Massachusetts: Early-Learning Educators Need Better Wages
By Katherine von Haefen Guest Column
As reported in iBerkshires, state education officials met with Western Massachusetts childcare and early education advocates at Berkshire Community College recently. I had the opportunity to share the following testimony on behalf of Berkshire United Way and our community partners.
Early childhood education provides tremendous benefits to our region. High-quality child care dramatically influences brain development and the future health and success for children in school and life, as well as provides a safe and secure space for our youngest community members so their parents or caregivers can work and provide for their families.
Berkshire United Way has invested in improving early childhood development opportunities in the Berkshires for decades. We fund high-quality nonprofit child-care centers that provide slots for income-constrained families. We also support the sector by co-hosting monthly child-care director meetings to work on shared challenges and collectively propose solutions. We advocate for early childhood education and have a great partner in this work, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier.
Staffing is a key component of high-quality care. The research shows that skilled and consistent educators in a classroom create long-lasting change for children. However, wages are stagnant and frequently do not provide educators with basic financial stability. We often hear that educators have left the field because they are unable to make their finances work. Wages need to improve to better reflect the expertise and indelible impact teachers have in the field.
When we look specifically at our region, our data is concerning.
As Berkshire County emerges from the pandemic, we are struggling with transportation, affordable housing and lack of mental health resources, much like the rest of the state. We are also seeing a rise in economically challenged households.
After nearly 10 years of decline, Berkshire County has experienced a significant jump in income inequality, now exceeding the state and national trends and far above comparable counties, according to the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. Over half of our population are "economically challenged," meaning they are working but struggling to make ends meet. A single parent with a school-aged child needs between $70,000 and $80,000 in income and public benefits just to meet their basic needs.
A large limb from a 32-foot sugar maple in the park fell next to the fountain area over the weekend. Caution tape and traffic barrels now surround the aftermath.
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The last estimate for construction was overly optimistic because, at the time, it was unclear how long obtaining the two easements would take, Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson said.
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Full cost estimates have not been completed but based on recent repairs made to the Clapp Park splash pad, it is estimated to cost between $350,000 and $450,000.
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King Kone had a soft opening at the end of the week, offering the frozen treats on a "pay what you will" basis while employees perfected the craft.
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