Milford repeats, upends Waterford for state title
MILFORD — Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the chance for the Milford Little League District All-Star softball team to make a return trip to the Little League East Region and a possible berth in the World Series was off the table.
With a 5-3 victory over Waterford on Sunday, Milford earned its second consecutive state title. Since 2018, Milford’s 12s have won a New England championship and two st ate t it l es.
“We were talking about this season and what it was go ing to look like,” Milford manager Margaret Bull said. “The girls wanted to go as f ar as they could. We accomplished that, but it is still sad that these girls don’t have the opportunity to continue on.”
Madyson Bull threw a complete game, giving up three hits while striking out 10 in an 11-1 four-inning win in the first game of the bestof-3 championship series at the renovated diamond at Brewster Field in Milford on Saturday.
On Sunday, Waterford needed to win game 2 to force a deciding third game.
After Waterford took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, Milford’s Alyssa Joye singled home Kelsea Flanagan, who had doubled, to tie things.
Two unearned runs in the fourth put Waterford back in front 3-1.
Again, Milford squared things off in the bottom of the frame. Julia O’Connell started the two-out rally with a perfectly placed infield single. Madyson Bull followed with a single to put runners at first and second. Avery Falco took the first pitch of her at-bat and sent it to the fence in right for a triple scoring O’Connell and Bull. Joye put Milford ahead with a single to center scoring Falco. Kaitlyn Dzialo provided some insurance with an RBI single scoring Flanagan and giving Milford a 5-3 lead after 5 innings.
Madyson Bull, who was injured late in the 2019 season and couldn’t pitch when Milford fell one win short to Pennsylvania for a trip to the World Series, worked out of a bases-loaded oneout jam in the 6th inning.
A lead-off error and consecutive hit batters loaded the bases with one out. Milford’s defense stepped up on a difficult grounder back to the mound to get the force at home on a close play. Bull then retired Waterford on a fly out back to the mound to secure the crown.
Manager Bull said: “It was certainly suspenseful. They were ahead of us twice and it was 3-1 going into the bottom of the 5th inning. In the 6th, they had the bases loaded. It could have gone either way.”
The team was formed the old-fashioned way.
“We had a shortened season,” Margaret Bull said. “The girls played games against each other, they played against West Haven, Stratford so there was a league. That is how we were able to watch and discuss which girls would be picked for the all-star team.”
Milford lost the nucleus of its 2019 roster.
“From last year’s team to this year’s team we only brought forward 3 girls (Avery Falco, Kelsea Flanagan and Madyson Bull),” said the Milford manager. “But when we won the 10U state championship two years ago, from that original team, there were 9 girls that came forward to play on this team.”
Ella Franzman, Julia O’Connell, Abby Corris, Alyssa Joye, Cassie Rodriguez, Charlotte Doyle, Erika Fabian, Kaitlyn Dzialo and Lauren Worzel were the newcomers that stepped up to help secure another championship.