This past Saturday, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Ozone Park) caught the first pitch of the final game of the World Series of American Softball for the Challenged and Handicapped, thrown by Assemblyman Mike Miller, at Kissena Corridor Park’s Captain Mario Fajardo Park Field #10 in Flushing, Queens. American Softball serves men and women with developmental disabilities, from age 15 to age 72.

“What a fantastic bunch of folks,” said Pheffer Amato. “Everyone is clearly having the time of their lives. What Randy Novick, the founder of American Softball, along with his wife Tina and their team of volunteers, see in their participants is people. It was such an honor to be with community members who are making the most out of life, for themselves and others. This is a great, heartwarming program, and it gives opportunities to folks who wouldn’t normally have them. If you haven’t been following American Softball, you should next season – this is sports at its finest!”