Photo: Kim Tunnicliffe/WBZ NewsRadio
HOPKINTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Hopkinton little league coach is hanging up his cleats for good, but he's going out on top thanks to his daughter.
Mitch Riesenberger spent 12 years volunteering as a little league baseball and softball coach for his kid's teams, but after more than a decade in the dugout, it's time for him to retire. His kids have since aged out of little league, but that did not stop him from getting a special ending to his career.
His daughter Kate scored the winning run in the Twin Valley Championship game back in July in what was his final game as a little league coach. Kate told WBZ's Kim Tunncliffe it was a special moment for her.
"I was running to third and I could see him giving me the signal to go home and I was like 'We're going to win this game'," she said. "I was running as hard as I could and I just had a smile on my face."
Mitch said it was the perfect way to say goodbye to his long coaching career.
"It was a thrill," he said. "It could have been anybody but it was just kind of a neat thing that it was Kate because it gets to put a stamp on the whole experience for me and for her too."
Kate said it was a great moment but also a little sad knowing that her dad's time as a coach was coming to an end.
"It was bittersweet after all we've done together," she said. "It ended with a cherry on top."
WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports.
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