Amanda Ceely was nervous before the Hudson Valley Red Storm took the field for the Greater Hudson Valley Softball League 12U Division 4 championship softball game on August 5 at Wallkill Area Little League.

She had heard the Shrub Oak Stingers may be bringing down a more advanced pitcher, and they were trying to force the game to the following weekend after the previously scheduled championship in Danbury, CT, was postponed.

But this game needed to be played as Ceely and her family moved to Florida two days after the August 5 game.

“I told the girls, ‘we’ll watch the pitcher because we have the better chemistry. We have better defense. We have better bats. We make adjustments.’”

The Storm didn’t need adjustments after falling behind by three runs, heading into the bottom of the third inning, they just needed to see a new pitcher.

At two pitchers per inning, the Stingrays changed their pitcher in the third, but she didn’t record an out, walked seven as the Storm scored seven runs to post a 10-6 victory to win the championship.

“It was more special for us to clinch at home,” Ceely said. “It was super-tight. We were down by three runs at one point, and in the spring that’s what did us in. We weren’t outhit. We weren’t outpitched. My shortstop made an error and the next at-bat my center fielder tipped the ball and then the girls just imploded on themselves.”

This time there was no implosion.

With the Storm trailing, 4-1, Brielle Faia got things started when she singled home Mia Syngjyllari, and then a bases loaded walk to Rachel Rodriguez pulled the Storm to within a run. Aliva Karabelas tied the game when she stole home. A walk to Maddie Bleakley put the Storm ahead and they never trailed again.

After giving up three runs in the third inning, Maiera Holmes had a shutdown fourth, and the Storm got another run. Faia, one of the Storm’s youngest having just turned 11 years old, doubled to center field.

“(She) cranked the ball,” Ceely said. “For all season, she’s been struggling. She’s a great bunter, but she barreled it. All of a sudden we could just feel the energy change.”
Faia scored when Rodriquez tripled to right field.

The Stingrays got two runs in the fifth inning and a bases-loaded walk to Syngjyllari gave the Storm a 10-6 lead.

“We realized at one point we were up, and I checked the clock, and we were losing daylight,” Ceely said.

Then after Holmes brought home the Storm’s 10th run, the umpire called the game for time and the celebration was on.

What was a 3-5 team in the spring that fell apart in the spring playoffs was an undefeated champion in the summer.

“The first thing we addressed when we got the outfield was how proud we were of them,” Ceely said.

“Proud of them for just wanting it more and not giving up.”

Even the umpire commented. The umpire in the championship game was their first umpire from the spring, a game that saw the Storm take a 25-8 beating in the first game of a doubleheader.

“He pulled as aside and said, ‘listen, you’ve can tell this is a really fresh group. You can tell you have some crew here,’” Ceely said. “Ironically, he ended up being our final ump, and these girls have been tremendous. So, it’s just a cool full circle moment.”

A full-circle moment for a team that’s only existed for one season. The Hudson Valley Storm was created from a merger of the Wallkill Travel Organization and the Newburgh Red Storm.

Shaun Butcher, who came from the Wallkill Travel Organization and was at Wallkill Area Little League with Ceely, asked if they wanted to create a softball team. The Storm had a contract with “Fit For Life” and got some indoor batting practice. She asked if the parents were interested; they were, and the team was born.

But the competition was tougher in the GHVSL, and the girls were stunned. They lost their first and then won three straight games before falling in the spring playoffs.

Many of them played on the Wallkill Area District 19 tournament team, where they went 2-2, before moving onto the unbeaten summer season.

Karabelas, who Ceely, called the missing piece, joined the team in the summer. They swept a doubleheader at Brewster in a doubleheader, and it was off to the races and the championship.

Ceely was emotional at the end of the season as she moved to Florida two days later. Her husband Ian plans to retire from the military in three years, and they plan to return to Wallkill.

She won’t coach in Florida because her experience with the Storm can’t be replicated.

“I plan on coming back, and I’m hoping I will be back in three years because it’s not just the girls; the coaches and parents were all in with us.”