NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Dalton Tatro Saturday night added his name to the list of more than 800 players who have competed in the La Festa Baseball Exchange over the last 27 years.

 

And he put his stamp on the event with authority, striking out 11 and allowing just three hits to pitch North Adams to a 4-1 win over the North End Dodgers of Boston.

 

Tatro, who watched his big brother play in the event, said it was an honor to be a part of this year’s event, which sees the Dodgers come to town for two games -- Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. -- and will send the North County team east in a couple of weeks.

 

“This is something I’ve worked really hard for,” the rising sophomore at McCann Tech said. “I’ve always wanted to play in La Festa. I didn’t make it last year, but I always wanted to do it.

 

“Mr. [George] Canales running the show and putting it all together, it’s really cool. Coming out here and playing under the lights at Joe Wolfe Field, it’s a really good experience.”

 

It’s an experience that is about more than just baseball.

 

The weekend started midday Saturday when the Bostonians arrived in the Berkshires for the traditional cookout at Windsor Lake, where the players from both teams enjoyed the ropes course and got to know one another.

 

“They’re very respectful, and it was very nice to meet them,” Tatro said. “They’re a bunch of good kids, and I can’t wait to spend some more time with them.”

 

For Canales, who has run the event for more than a quarter century, the time off the field is as important as the time spent between the lines.

 

“It’s about the relationships,” he said while watching Saturday night’s action. “It’s about all the friendships these kids make. That’s why I do it.”

 

Canales and his band of volunteers have opened up a new world to generations of players from both ends of the commonwealth. Several members of this year’s North Adams team will be making their first trip to Boston in a couple of weeks, Canales said. Dozens of family members accompanied the North End team to the Steeple City on Saturday, making the game one of the best attended in the event’s history.

 

By the time the North End games are played next month, that list of games will be 98 games long, Canales said.

 

“It’s been 27 years -- 27 good years,” Canales said during Saturday’s pregame ceremonies. “It’s a great event, and all we want is good sportsmanship. I really don’t look at the scoreboard. I just want these kids to have fun. And it’s the same when we go to Boston and how we’re treated out there.”

 

The North Adams players wasted no time putting some runs on that scoreboard on Saturday night.

 

After Evan Sheridan drew a leadoff walk and stole second, Henry Sniezek delivered the game’s first hit with one out. A couple of miscues in the field allowed those two to score and put Quinton McIntyre on third base with one out. Matt Jette’s sacrifice fly made it a 3-0 game with three unearned runs against North End’s Teto Santaniello (three hits, nine strikeouts).

 

The Dodgers got one run back in the second. Santaniello helped his cause with a leadoff single, moved up on a passed ball and a balk and scored on a double steal with Colm Vrabel, who earned his way aboard with a walk.

 

Tatro struck out the next two batters to strand Vrabel, and he stranded two more runners in the third before sitting down the next 12 in a row.

 

“I just kept pumping the fastball in there,” Tatro said. “Just kept hitting the strike zone. Then I tossed a couple of sliders in there to keep ‘em off balance.”

 

Tatro scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the second.

 

Corbin Rumbolt started the rally with a base hit and moved up when Tatro drew a walk. Robert Monsees reached on a fielder’s choice that saw Rumbolt erased at third. Tatro and Monsees then executed a double steal before a wild pitch allowed Tatro to come home.

 

“I think the team really worked hard tonight,” Tatro said. “I had a good shortstop behind me in Henry Sniezek. He made some very good plays tonight. … We played solid baseball tonight, and hopefully we’ll come out with a ‘W’ tomorrow.”

 

More photos from this game here.