The Montgomery County Legislature honored the Fort Plain High School baseball team Tuesday with a proclamation congratulating the players and longtime coach Craig Phillips on winning the state Class D championship.
District 2 Legislator Thomas Quackenbush read a proclamation, then yielded the floor to Phillips, who spoke for several minutes, talking about his team’s winning season after a slow start and praising the players for “accepting their roles” and working hard all season long. Members of the team were in the audience.
“At the beginning of the season I had my doubts about how far we could go,” Phillips said, referring to the team’s 2-2 record following season-opening splits with St. Johnsville and Saratoga Spa Catholic.
“We got a lot better as the year went on,” Phillips said. “[Catcher Drew Foreno] was a great player and [pitcher Jesse Heroth] won five games for us in the tournament. But you don’t win with [just] those two guys, you win with a bunch of kids that work very, very hard, that believe in themselves and have a lot of heart. And when you play for Fort Plain, not only do you have heart, but you have tradition and you have a lot of pride.”
Phillips said he would never forget this year’s team. “It just worked out that everybody had a role, everybody fulfilled a role, and if this is my last season, which is probable, I’ll always remember these guys.”
Phillips has said previously he will retire after this season, which was his 44th.
