I don't know about the rest of you all out there, but Section 9 baseball/softball tournament time is my favorite time of year.

It's been a long, wet, chilly spring for the most part thus far but the weather always seems to heat up when the games start to matter. There certainly should be no shortage of action on the diamond this week -- whether it's baseball or softball -- and there are plenty of area teams that have a legitimate shot of making some serious noise in the postseason.

I know it always seems like our teams in Ulster and northern Dutchess Counties get treated like second-class citizens to teams from Orange and Sullivan Counties when it comes to tournament time, but if we learn anything from the state champion Coleman Catholic girls basketball team, it's that you never know what could happen.

You just have to play the game. Good luck!