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McCann Tech's Dalton Tatro struck out 11 in Saturday night's La Festa Exchange opener at Joe Wolfe Field.

North Adams Wins Battle of 'Good Kids' in La Festa Opener

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Dalton Tatro Saturday night added his name to the list of more than 800 players who have competed in the La Festa Baseball Exchange over the last 27 years.
 
And he put his stamp on the event with authority, striking out 11 and allowing just three hits to pitch North Adams to a 4-1 win over the North End Dodgers of Boston.
 
Tatro, who watched his big brother play in the event, said it was an honor to be a part of this year’s event, which sees the Dodgers come to town for two games -- Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. -- and will send the North County team east in a couple of weeks.
 
“This is something I’ve worked really hard for,” the rising sophomore at McCann Tech said. “I’ve always wanted to play in La Festa. I didn’t make it last year, but I always wanted to do it.
 
“Mr. [George] Canales running the show and putting it all together, it’s really cool. Coming out here and playing under the lights at Joe Wolfe Field, it’s a really good experience.”
 
It’s an experience that is about more than just baseball.
 
The weekend started midday Saturday when the Bostonians arrived in the Berkshires for the traditional cookout at Windsor Lake, where the players from both teams enjoyed the ropes course and got to know one another.
 
“They’re very respectful, and it was very nice to meet them,” Tatro said. “They’re a bunch of good kids, and I can’t wait to spend some more time with them.”
 
For Canales, who has run the event for more than a quarter century, the time off the field is as important as the time spent between the lines.
 
“It’s about the relationships,” he said while watching Saturday night’s action. “It’s about all the friendships these kids make. That’s why I do it.”
 
Canales and his band of volunteers have opened up a new world to generations of players from both ends of the commonwealth. Several members of this year’s North Adams team will be making their first trip to Boston in a couple of weeks, Canales said. Dozens of family members accompanied the North End team to the Steeple City on Saturday, making the game one of the best attended in the event’s history.
 
By the time the North End games are played next month, that list of games will be 98 games long, Canales said.
 
“It’s been 27 years -- 27 good years,” Canales said during Saturday’s pregame ceremonies. “It’s a great event, and all we want is good sportsmanship. I really don’t look at the scoreboard. I just want these kids to have fun. And it’s the same when we go to Boston and how we’re treated out there.”
 
The North Adams players wasted no time putting some runs on that scoreboard on Saturday night.
 
After Evan Sheridan drew a leadoff walk and stole second, Henry Sniezek delivered the game’s first hit with one out. A couple of miscues in the field allowed those two to score and put Quinton McIntyre on third base with one out. Matt Jette’s sacrifice fly made it a 3-0 game with three unearned runs against North End’s Teto Santaniello (three hits, nine strikeouts).
 
The Dodgers got one run back in the second. Santaniello helped his cause with a leadoff single, moved up on a passed ball and a balk and scored on a double steal with Colm Vrabel, who earned his way aboard with a walk.
 
Tatro struck out the next two batters to strand Vrabel, and he stranded two more runners in the third before sitting down the next 12 in a row.
 
“I just kept pumping the fastball in there,” Tatro said. “Just kept hitting the strike zone. Then I tossed a couple of sliders in there to keep ‘em off balance.”
 
Tatro scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the second.
 
Corbin Rumbolt started the rally with a base hit and moved up when Tatro drew a walk. Robert Monsees reached on a fielder’s choice that saw Rumbolt erased at third. Tatro and Monsees then executed a double steal before a wild pitch allowed Tatro to come home.
 
“I think the team really worked hard tonight,” Tatro said. “I had a good shortstop behind me in Henry Sniezek. He made some very good plays tonight. … We played solid baseball tonight, and hopefully we’ll come out with a ‘W’ tomorrow.”
 
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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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