WE ARE HOMETOWN NEWS.

LONGMEADOW — The 2023 Longmeadow 10U softball team was congratulated on May 7 by state Rep. Brian Ashe and Jennifer Pickering, district director for state Sen. Jake Oliveira for winning the 2023 state championship.

The team is the only Little League team — either baseball or softball — in Longmeadow history to win at the state level. The team was presented with citations from the two chambers of the Legislature. The 10U team, consisting of 9- and 10-year-olds, bested Westfield’s team to win the district championship, and went on to win the state championship against the Worcester district champion team.

Coach Kerri St. Amand praised the team and said their “amazing pitcher,” Raelyn Loud, “lead the way for our team’s success last summer with an impressive 155 strikeouts, pitching every inning of every game.”

She added, “She is an absolute stand out on and off the field.”

The team wore purple bows in their hair in memory of Katarina “Kat” Boskovic, a Longmeadow High School senior and track and field athlete who died on May 7, 2022.