Kalista led Marlboro to the Class A state championship in June, crafting a storybook ending to a stellar high school career. The former Journal Player of the Year will begin her first college softball season next month.Among those involved were Emma Jackson, Samantha Maleck, Kaitlyn Gordon, Taylor Castellani, Emily Hite and Kiera Del Salto of […]
Kalista led Marlboro to the Class A state championship in June, crafting a storybook ending to a stellar high school career. The former Journal Player of the Year will begin her first college softball season next month.Among those involved were Emma Jackson, Samantha Maleck, Kaitlyn Gordon, Taylor Castellani, Emily Hite and Kiera Del Salto of Marlboro. Roy C. Ketcham was represented by Claire Moore, Christiana Simou, Grace Hotle and Mia Metz.Before heading back to Florida, she reunited with a few of her former teammates who dedicated a portion of their holiday break to this competition, and its cause.Golden:Gunsett, Birkenstock star as Marlboro captures Class A state title
And so was birthed an idea that became the Strikeout Diabetes Classic, a winter softball tournament that serves as a memorial to James T. Birkenstock and a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a New York-based organization that helps fund the study and development of Type 1 diabetes treatments.Understandably so.The Huskies 14U National team that Kalista played for, and that Locke coached, won the tournament that year. That trophy, Locke said, still is displayed prominently in Kalista’s room.
James Birkenstock battled diabetes for most of his life and eventually succumbed to the disease, dying of diabetic shock at age 43 and leaving behind, among several loved ones, a twin son and daughter.
Among the teams involved were the Dutchess Debs 18U, the Beacon Extreme 16U, Huskies 18U Moore and a thrown-together roster they playfully called “The Misfits.”The fundraising was aided by local businesses, including Baja 28 and Piece of the Game, that donated sports memorabilia, gift cards and other items to be raffled.
After a round of pool play last Saturday, the top four teams advanced to a gold bracket and the others to silver. The Lady Dukes 18U squad went 7-0 overall and won the gold championship, beating the Run & Gun Lady Nightmares of Connecticut in the final on Dec. 29. Jackson and Maleck shared MVP honors. The Empire State Huskies 16U Exarchakis beat the Huskies 16U Premier in the silver final.Far out:Hopewell Junction teen competes in skiing world championships in Kazakhstan
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4It certainly is difficult to lose a parent suddenly and prematurely, particularly as a child, and the pain of that absence does linger.
The Huskies, Kalista said, deserve “special thanks” for entering four of its teams into the tournament to help support her cause.The event, organized by Locke, was held last weekend as the Hudson Valley Sportsdome in Milton hosted eight high-level travel teams. The tournament, in its three years, has raised more than ,000.Locke first put the wheels in motion for this in 2020, contacting the Sportsdome that fall once some COVID restrictions had been loosened. Despite the challenges and the additional hurdles to clear then, that inaugural event was a success.
“I’m grateful to Greg for all the work he put in to pull this off and make it work while I was home,” said Kalista Birkenstock, a former Marlboro softball star who now is a freshman at Florida Gulf Coast University. Jameson attends Keiser University in Fort Lauderdale.“I’m also thankful for all the support we got from the teams, my former teammates and the community to help raise money and awareness for this disease,” Kalista continued. “It’s great to have something like this in memory of my dad.”
It seemed fitting, as sports always have been a centerpiece for their family. The twins’ mom, Kristie Brand, was a collegiate athlete and Locke played baseball at Pace University.“The kids were trying to think of something they could do to honor their dad,” Greg Locke said of a 2020 conversation with his stepchildren, Kalista and Jameson, two years after their father passed. “Kalista was like, ‘What if we did something around softball?’”But for Kalista Birkenstock and her Marlboro family, there is comfort in honoring her father’s memory and purpose in a cause.
