Shift in mind- set
Intensity, maturity keys to Fairfield American success
FAIRFIELD — They had started this all- star journey as wideeyed kids, looking to find, and ride, a postseason wave of success for as long as they could. But for whatever reason, that journey never seemed to get very far.
Last summer as 11- year- olds, this batch of Fairfield American kids didn’t even qualify for the District 2 tournament, being relegated to something called the Sea Breeze Tournament. As 10s, they played in the Little Fellows tour- nament, again not even making the districts.
But growing up … going from 10 to 11 and another year older, from 11 to 12, priorities start to change. Your focus on things, like baseball, becomes more intense. You start working harder, devoting more time to making yourself better. All of a sudden, boom, you’re preparing to play in the opening round of the New England region tournament — just four wins away from a trip to Williamsport, Pa., and the Little League World Series.
That is Fairfield American, the 2018 edition, in a nutshell.
“We’ve all been playing with each other since we were 8 years old,” shortstop Pierce Cowles said before practice earlier this week. “Before, we’d think we were going to lose … what’s the point? But after last season we decided to come out and work hard every day. We all started playing AAU ball in the spring and we all worked really hard.”
The results have been eye- opening. Over the course of 14 postseason games — eight District 2, three Section 1 and three state — Fairfield American is 13- 1 and four victories from punching its ticket to Williamsport.
The first step starts Sunday at 1 p. m. at Breen Field at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Little League Leadership Training Center in Bristol, against Coventry, R. I.
“It still really hasn’t hit me that we won the states,” Cowles said. “It would be amazing if we could do another Williamsport trip. We’ve all worked really hard and we’re hoping for the best.”
Along with that hard work has come a newfound intensity this season that Fairfield American manager Jeff Gouley hadn’t seen before. Admittedly, Gouley wasn’t the most optimistic about just how far this
“It still really hasn’t hit me that we won the states. It would be amazing if we could do another Williamsport trip.” — Shortstop Pierce Cowles
team would go heading into postseason play, but after watching a special Memorial Day game, his thoughts changed.
“I saw a sense of maturity. They have an inner confidence now,” Gouley said. “The excitement and level of play in that game … you could see that they were all elevating their play to a level that I hadn’t seen. I knew they had it in them, I just didn’t know if they had it in them together. What would bring it out.”
Apparently, it was a 1- 0 victory over Trumbull American — Fairfield’s second District 2 roundrobin game — that really changed everything. Held hitless heading into the bottom of the sixth, Timmy Domizio opened the inning with a single, and a walk to Charlie Yates put runners at first and second. With two outs, Robbie Donahue singled to score Domizio with the winning run.
“We had never beaten them ( Trumbull American), so that was a major accomplishment,” Gouley said. “It was validation that we were on the right track.”
“After that Trumbull American game, we were like, ‘ Oh, we got this.’ The mindset totally changed,” Cowles said. “It really shifted after that game: ‘ Keep working hard, keep winning.’ ”
It didn’t hurt that Cowles threw a three- hit shutout against Trumbull American, striking out 12. Over the course of the postseason, he is 5- 0 with 1.50 ERA and 52 strikeouts ( and just seven walks) in 36 innings. At the plate, he’s an eye- popping 23 of 35 (. 657) with 10 home runs and 23 RBIs.
“He’s obviously seeing the ball really, really well. When he makes solid contact, it goes,” Gouley said. “Does it surprise me? No, because he’s always been a great hitter.”
And the pitching? Well, considering that Cowles cracked a growth plate in his shoulder pitching in a spring game as a 10- yearold and needed close to seven months of recovery time, the fact that’s he’s throwing 60- plus is impressive.
“I could throw lightly, but I couldn’t start throwing hard again until this past fall,” Cowles said. “It was awful. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. It stunk.”
Healthy again, Cowles is showing just what he can do. The star will take the stage again starting Sunday in Bristol.
“He loves baseball,” Gouley said. “He’s at a special level.”