SAUGERTIES, NY — Nuts to Norman Mailer. Tough guys can shed a few tears.

On Saturday, May 26 the Bears of Tri-Valley got shut out 9-0 by the Pine Plains Bombers in the Section IX Class C baseball final at Lorez Field, part of the Cantine Veterans Memorial Complex.

For Chase Botsford, the solo senior on the Bears varsity hardball squad, it was a tough loss, as he was on the two previous teams that faced the two-time defending champs that topped number-four seeded Tri-Valley 7-0 last season and 11-2 in 2016.

But the hope that the third time would be the charm didn’t materialize, as the Bears (10-7) didn’t really play up to their defensive potential and allowed their bats to take an untimely snooze.

Botsford took over the mound for the Bears early in the game in the wake of starting pitcher Cody Shamro watching two infield errors equal four unearned runs in the first frame, resulting in #2 ranked Pine Plains taking a 4-0 lead.

After the loss, Botsford wasn’t afraid to let his emotions come to the surface, especially as this was his final outing proudly wearing a Bears uniform.

“I was hoping this time we could seal the deal… this is the third year that we’ve been to this game," he said.

Choking back his disappointment, the lone senior looked toward a brighter future in coming seasons for the younger players taking over the reins.

“We have a lot of talent;, I’m sure they will be able to do it next year.”

Matthew Funk fanned 12 Bears in hurling a one-hitter victory for Pine Plains (13-6) yielding nary a walk in the process.

“I think we played really well all-around as a team… everyone chipped in and it was good team win,” said Funk.

Backing him up behind the plate was Ethan Generelli.

“We achieved all the goals that we wanted to… a section title and hopefully beyond," said the Bombers catcher.

According to Pine Plains helmsman Brendan LoBrutto, the secret to success in baseball is to “keep the ball rolling and in play.”

Along with a pitcher who hurls some heat.

“Matty pitched a great game; I didn’t expect any less of him… we had excellent defense. It was a well-rounded effort, and the guys did a good job of putting the bat on the ball.”

John Rusin, coach of the Bears, said his team fulfilled one of his primary goals for the year.

“We finished the season much stronger than we started it, that’s what you always hope for as a coach… it was a really tight group of kids..they work really hard, the kind of kids you want to be around.”

Bears catcher Johnathon Schmidt summed up the season.

“We had our ups and downs, but we fought through it… you couldn’t ask for a better team”.