Plains t-ball takes on St. Regis

It's doubtful that Aaron Boone, manager of the N.Y. Yankees, has called timeout and gone to home plate to help get his player's hair off his face or tied a player's shoes for them at the plate, but that has happened to Danielle Paquet with her players more than once.

Paquet is the head coach for the Plains Wrecking Balls T-ball baseball team, which faced the St. Regis Tigers at the Amundson Sports Complex last Thursday. It wasn't a nail-biting close game that kept fans at the edge of their seats, but it was entertaining.

"Get your finger out of your nose," shouted Nathan Rigney, coach for the Tigers, to one of his players in the field of the second inning. Other directions to the kids included - don't play in the dirt, get up, pay attention, pick up your glove, and keep your hands to yourself.

There wasn't any crying last week, but there were a couple that couldn't wait for the game to be over and asked the coaches several times, even though the T-ballers only go three innings. Even so, it took just over an hour to complete the game and shake the hands of the other team. T-ball is the starting point for youth baseball. It's called such because instead of a pitcher, the batter hits the ball from a t-stand. It's a coed game for kids from 4-6 years old.

In T-ball, the entire team takes to the field and everyone bats and they keep swinging the bat until the ball is hit forward. There are no outs, even if the kids could field the ball and get it to a base. Plenty of the kids last week took more than a few swings before making contact with the ball. Many hit the t-stand instead of the ball and a few hit the ball backwards. It took Adalyn Lumley nine swings during her second time at the plate to hit the ball and when she did, it went past second base.

The Wrecking Balls, sponsored by McGowan Grocery, had four boys and nine girls at the game. Paquet said that about 75% of this year's team are first time players. She has coached a handful of the kids, including her daughter, Ember, but next year Ember will be old enough to move on to either Rookies baseball or girls softball. The Tigers had only five players at the game, which meant each batted twice in an inning. It was the fourth game of the season for the Tigers and their last. It was the sixth game of the season for the Wrecking Balls, but they had one more scheduled for the following day at Plains.

Paquet said the kids are learning, though it's a slow process. "It's progress when they all run in the right direction," said Paquet, who has coached T-ball for three years. Nearly 40 friends and relatives came out to watch the game.

No scores are kept in T-ball. "The whole season we were undefeated," joked Wrecking Balls first year assistant coach Jonard Aquino, whose daughter, Mya, plays on the Plains team. "Really, every game they're all winners," he added.

The Wrecking Balls faced the other Plains T-ball team, coached by Tanner Colombo, on Friday. At the end of the game, the kids attacked Colombo with squirt guns, said Paquet.