Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

by Bea Peterson
Saturday, June 12, was a day of highs and lows for the HFCS Softball team. The high came in the morning semifinal matchup with Gananda (25-1) in the NYS Class C Softball Championship Final Four in Waterloo. Hoosick Falls took that game 3-2. Rachel Quackenbush pitched 11 strikeouts.
After a two hour wait, HF faced reigning Champion Rhinebeck, the team that defeated them in the semi-finals last year. HF scored first when Samantha Skott doubled and Katie Kovage drove her home. Rhinebeck tied the game in the sixth inning. The game was tied in the bottom of the seventh inning when Hoosick Falls

So Close! Katie Kovage on third base in the seventh inning of the game against Rhinebeck is eager to get home. Photo by Denise Campbell.

loaded the bases with one out but failed to score. They came that close. Then Rhinebeck scored twice in the top of the eighth inning and walked away with the Championship, 3-1. That was the HF low. Quackenbush had 17 strikeouts in the loss.
The overall high is that the team far exceeded its expectations and became NYS finalists. Hoosick Falls was honored with the New York State Class C team sportsmanship award after the championship game.
Charlie Weeden has been coaching HFCS Softball for 16 years. He’s gruff sounding, makes everybody laugh with his offhand humor, and he’s not given to praise. “We played well six games in a row,” he said. “One inning we didn’t play well and that was it.” Rachel [Quackenbush] pitched well all year. Our hitting comes and goes. But, it’s the farthest we’ve gone since 1988. Weeden said he thought this year would be a starter year. “I thought we’d be down a little, then next year we would do better. We had five new starters in new positions and four starters, all good ball players, left over from last year.”
Holding his arms out from his shoulders, he said, “We came this close to being State Champs.”
“A 25-3 season; that’s a good year. We were happy to be there [in Waterloo].” That final loss is not devastating, he said. “Devastating is a war and being killed. This is softball and as long as everyone played her best – no problem.” However, he is looking for his team to go as far next year.