Taking place during the school’s fourth period, students were released early and headed to the park in droves, filling every seat in the bleachers to support the all-stars.

The event was originally scheduled to take place the previous week, but organizers postponed it because of inclement weather.

Under sunny blue skies, students socialized on the hill beside the ball park, while others got a view of the action from the left field fence near the all-stars’ dugout.

Many spectators showed their allegiance to the all-stars by wearing red, while the teacher’s pets sported black clothing.

Led by drama teacher Phil Holmes as their head coach, the student all-stars were made up of Aiden Dubeau, Avery Mohr, Bryan Tubman, C.J. Piché, Connor Gilpin, Dakota Hudson, Ethan Larivière, Harry Lukacs-Hitz, Hunter Lukacs-Hitz, Leah Beaduoin, Maggey Lemay, Monica Tanguay, Tyler Stanton and William Desabrais.

The staff team included Pascal Asselin, Brenda Davis, Chad Davis, Sheri Deline, Darcy Findlay, Tara Fitzpatrick, Matt Greer, Jordan Kent, Matt Lottes, Phil Sweezey, Steve Wynne and Rick Valin.

Luke Murphy, who may or may not have accepted bribes, was the umpire.

With so many people watching the game, it was clear that the players and teachers alike wanted to show the crowd what they were made of.

Along with a series of dazzling plays in the field, players impressed with their power at the plate. More than a few managed to knock the ball out of the park, to the crowd’s delight.

After seven innings of hard-fought ball, the staff prevailed by a score of 14-9.

Made of grade nine, ten and eleven students, the school’s senior all-star team consisted of students rewarded for their overall talent, sportsmanship qualities and attitude exhibited throughout the school’s ball tournament and practice sessions held in September.

Since the rosters were announced over a week before the matchup, there was plenty of anticipation in the days leading up to the big game among students and staff, according to one of the event’s main organizers Brenda Davis.

Davis explained that in previous years, the game also featured a junior all-star team made up of grade seven and eight students who played three innings. But, to prevent any students from getting injured, organizers decided to limit the game to a senior team.

In the last four years, the all-star game has been a great way of allowing students to showcase their skills on the diamond while bonding with their teachers and getting to know a different side of them, Davis said.

“It’s kind of exciting for the students to showcase their skills and also a chance for the students to just kind of see a different side of their teachers whom they don’t know play sports,” she said.

Whether it was betting on how many homeruns they were going to hit or predicting which teacher would strike out swinging, the students and staff exchanged a good dose of trash talk throughout the week before the game, Davis said.

“They love the banter between the students and the teachers in the days leading up,” she said.

From the eleventh graders ready to show their skills to the school for one last time, to the eighth graders dreaming about participating in it one day, the event has become a tradition that the school’s aspiring ball players look forward to every year, Davis said.

“The grade elevens, they know it’s their last year on the all-star team,” she said. “Also, it was neat hearing how many grade eights are saying like, I’m going to be on that team next year. Even some of the grade tens that were there were saying ‘next year, I’m going to be on it.’”

For Davis, the all-star game is beneficial for the morale of the students and staff, as it brings the entire school together for a wholesome activity.

Since incorporating the tournament and the all-star game at PHS in the last few years, Davis has noticed a significant uptick in the sport’s popularity at the school.

Whether it’s the desire to swing a bat, make plays in the field, or volunteer as a score keeper, it seems like there’s no shortage of kids at PHS willing to participate in the school’s softball related activities, Davis said.

“I think it’s just a sport that’s easily accessible to kids,” she said. “You need a ball glove and a pair of running shoes and you can play. It doesn’t have the intimating cost associated with it like other sports.”

“I think kids get surprised with who’s good at softball,” she added. “It opens up the doors for a lot of kids to play. I think it helps that we don’t do any cuts. I think it definitely does bring a lot of popularity to the sport here.”

Pictured, PHS math teacher Phil Sweezey does his best Brooks Robinson impression with a dart from third base.

Senior all-stars outfielder Connor Gilpin gazes in the horizon after smacking one over the fence in straight away centre field.

Rick Valin gets ready to hit the ball with all his might. The staff won the game by a score of 14-9.

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