BY SAPNA PATHAK
Richie Vaillancourt had an idea what he was signing up for. He knew coaching a handful of 10-year-old softball players meant practices, pregame preparations and time during games would involve lots of chatter, lots of energy and plenty of laughter.
And he was right.
At the helm of this year’s Kearsarge Mountain South 10U Babe Ruth softball all-star squad, Vaillancourt watched as his young players finished among the top four teams in New England.
“There’s less talk of softball and more about their favorite movies and songs and things,” said a smiling Vaillancourt while trying to corral his team before a game. “They’ve been together six weeks now, and they’ve become such good friends. It’s amazing. This (spending time together off the field) is what they really enjoy. But coming in one game away from playing at nationals isn’t something they’re going to forget either.”
Bubbly and enthusiastic at first glance, the all-stars’ competitive drive and focus balanced the light-hearted dugout atmosphere.
In fact, any warm-up session would include players from Dunbarton, Weare, Hopkinton and Goffstown running drills and working on plays while referring to each other with affectionate nicknames.
“They call me ‘Diesel,’” said Weare’s Chloe Loos, the squad’s lone returner. “We all came up with these funny names for each other because of things we’ve done or said. I’m ‘Diesel’ because they think I’m fast like a diesel train. And we have this one cheer we do before every game, too.”
On Friday, July 20, Loos and her teammates took the field at Reeds Ferry Elementary school in Merrimack, for the 10U Babe Ruth softball New England regional tournament. Coming in second in its district and state tournament, Kearsarge Mountain entered action on Sunday, July 22, as the top seed before falling, 7-2, to Lou Lever in the semifinals.
Kearsarge beat Barrington, Vt., 9-3, then downed New Canaan, Conn., 16-6, on Saturday morning, July 21. An 8-0 loss later that day dropped the team to the losers bracket, but because it had given up the least amount of runs, it earned the No. 1 seed on Sunday.
Hopkinton hurlers Meghan “Twinkle Toes” Kissinger and Sloane White pitched for KMS, while Goffstown’s Kallie “Wheels” Tabor, sisters Berklee and Colbi Vaillancourt of Dunbarton, and Hopkinton’s Rebecca Shatney turned in solid efforts for the offense.
The other KMS all-stars were Emma Roberts, Jordan Goodliff, Alyssa Bailey, Gianna Pezzulo and Caroline Lovejoy.
“After the state tournament, we thought we were eliminated because there was a mistake in the rules,” said Berklee Vaillancourt, known as “Tomahawk.” “So we were running around getting each other’s addresses and phone numbers so we could make sure we’d see each other soon.”
“This was so awesome because we all got so close,” agreed Hopkinton’s Kissinger. “We’re definitely going to stay friends even though the year’s over. Colbi and Berklee already said we could have sleepovers at their house because I think our coach is now used to it.”