TNT Finals Make For Great Baseball Day At DeVries Park

Fans arrived in droves to sun-splashed DeVries Field Saturday, taking in the championship games of the TNT little league baseball championships.

While the torrent of developing young talent opened eyes, the championship games culminated a productive season on the grass-roots circuit.

It simultaneously triggered some excitement for the summer, when TNT and area travel teams help keep the gloves and bats in the kids' hands.

 "The TNT system has really come a long way, our in-house program especially," said Joey Good, a TNT league director under President John Sutherland.

"We do have an awesome summer program that's been built up, but we start here with these young guys. They look up to the older kids and at the opportunity to play on those travel teams, and that's why the in-house program has been unbelievable. When you look at how much it's improved over the last 5-6 years, it's really been great." 

Good grew up playing baseball in nearby Yonkers. He embraced America's favorite pastime on the summer league circuit, playing for the North Yonkers Boys Club.

 Before moving to Sleepy Hollow with his wife and children (and simultaneously joining Sutherland in the TNT program), Good was active in organizing travel teams and summer leagues for the North Yonkers Boys Club.  

On Saturday, the action kicked off when the 5th and 6th grade boys played out their title game. There were many hard-hit balls, with the youngsters displaying considerable pop in their bats. Out of the three home runs that were launched in the game between the Giants and Padres, two were smacked over the high fences in the left and right field.  The Giants ended up gutting out a 3-2 win in the 5th and 6th grade division.

In the fourth grade division, dubbed the "minor league," the Rays avenged a loss against the Pirates. Behind stellar pitching and an early scoring onslaught, the Rays avenged a regular season loss with an impressive 12-2 victory before a horde of proud parents. Playing small ball, the Rays put runs on the board by knocking in singles and discovering gaps in the infield and outfield.  

Historically and currently, the day means a lot to the community of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown. Good--who coaches various local travel teams and helps Sutherland operate the league--believes Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow are baseball breeding grounds first.

He wants baseball to once again be the sport this area is known for.

 "The Tarrytown program has improved so much recently that we've started compete with the Briarcliffs that have been powerhouses for all these years," said Good. We're a town to be reckoned with lately and people are realizing that. That's because of these feeder programs. There's nothing but good things ahead of us." 

Good continued, "It all starts with the grass roots," said Good. "It starts at the bottom. It's nice. As much as we like lacrosse in this town, we're trying to keep it a baseball town and keep it strong and move on from there."