Sports: Waterford ousted from Little League softball regional
Waterford’s dream summer ends a win short of title round
— Waterford manager Bristol Becky Hall witnessed a wide range of emotions in the dugout following the final out on Wednesday.
A magical postseason run ended on a sour note — a 3-1 loss to Monroe (N.Y.) in the losers' bracket final — but Waterford walked away from the East Regional Little League (11-12) softball tournament with a mental scrapbook full of fond memories.
"A few of them were getting upset in the dugout and a couple of them are mad but not crying," Hall said. "Some of them are a little sad. But the rest are holding their heads high. They did a great job here.
"They made a lot of friends and they have a ton of Little League pins to take home and mementos. This was a very enjoyable experience for all of us."
Waterford cruised to three straight victories to start the tournament but stumbled the last two days, making too many mistakes to beat quality competition. The once-torrid offense went cold, as Waterford managed only six hits in the last two games.
Brianna Roberts and Emma Lawson combined to pitch a two-hitter on Wednesday, allowing only Anna Bonelli's bunt single and Adrianna Donahue's double. Monroe faces undefeated Newark (Del.) in the championship round at noon on Thursday for the right to go to the World Series in Portland (Ore.).
Waterford's best chance at a big inning quickly fizzled after Donahue led off the fourth with a double. She
“They made a lot of friends and they have a ton of Little League pins to take come and mementos. This was a very enjoyable experience for all of us.” WATERFORD MANAGER BECKY HALL
moved to third on Milly Walker's ground out and scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 3-1. But that was it.
"We just didn't hit," Hall said. "Look at the scoreboard and we had only two hits on the day. (Tuesday), we were a little flat with the bats in the second game (against Delaware) and it just carried over today. We just weren't getting the barrel through the ball."
As it did in a 6-2 loss to Delaware on Tuesday, Waterford contributed to its own demise on Wednesday, finishing with more errors (three) than hits.
In the first inning, Roberts beat out a bunt single with one out. A wild pickoff attempt sailed into right field and another error on the same play put Roberts on third. Lawson laced an RBI single for a 1-0 lead. Waterford starting pitcher Anna Dziecinny escaped further damage by stranding two runners.
Monroe added two more runs in the third for a 3-0 lead. After Anna Paravati led off with a single, she advanced to second on a passed ball, third on a wild pitch and then scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 edge.
Hall replaced Dziecinny on the mound with Maddie Burrows with one out and a runner on third. A wild pitch scored Lawson, who reached on an error, for a third run.
"We just couldn't recover," Hall said. "Errors will kill you. We're at a level now, it's about who is making less errors."
Waterford put a runner on base in every inning but one, stranding a player on second in the second and third. Lawson retired the side in order in the sixth to end the game.
Hall talked about what made her softball team so special.
"The girls were exceptional," she said. "We're proud of where we are. There's very few teams that are still here and that says a lot. They just had such trust in one another. The faith in the pitching staff that when one struggles, they know someone else has their back. At any time defensively, everybody has a backup at every spot . ... We have such depth.
"They've been playing together since they were eight, most of them. And they just have the utmost trust and camaraderie." g.keefe@theday.com