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Thirteenth of August. There were journeys and difficulties. There were tribulations and triumphs. There was transition and transformation. And there was the reminder that the suggestion that nothing lasts is transcendent garbage. Because memories do.
Indeed, the East Lyme boys will cherish the summer of their lives, the one that ran from June to August, the baseball streak that ended the Little League World Series by a hair’s breadth. And even when they return to school in a few weeks, walking down hallways likely to be indistinguishable from their peers, their feel-good story and celebrity will triumph and endure.
“After a tough loss like that,” manager Lorenzo Biscotto said Tuesday, nearly a week after a one-run loss to Staten Island, New York, in the Little League Metro Regional losers’ final. You think about what you could have done differently.
“But,” he said, “in the last few days, you start to look back and think, ‘wow, we’ve done some smart things. ‘We appreciate what the young people have done and we are very happy with what they have experienced. “. »
What did they experience? Trips to West Hartford, Shelton and Bristol. Traffic. Impromptu lunches and dinners. Friendships. Dingers. Zingers. Without hitters. Gracias. La bag it flies. Emotional rises. Laugh with the kids. A second straight Connecticut state championship. ESPN. A long time away from home in the dormitories of the Giamatti Centre in Bristol. Only play can give life to the school.
“I told the kids after the (Staten Island) game that I’ve been in professional baseball for 25 years,” said Philadelphia Phillies assistant coach and scout Todd Donovan, “and I’ve never been involved in anything that big. ” “. a laugh and very gratifying.
They were children of East Lyme, but they were also children of everyone else. Perhaps it’s because of this total Little League affair that, despite its corporate leanings, there’s still a sense of innocence that fuels the movement. In other words: when the Waterfords start putting down roots in East Lymes, you have a story.
And young people will lead them.
“The night of the Staten Island game, all three of our serving rooms were full,” Mike Buscetto, owner of Filomena’s in Waterford, said of many Waterford sports celebrations over the years. “We had live music in one room, a Waterford town party in the other room and an East Lyme town party in the other. Soon we were all gathered in the living room in front of the giant screens to cheer on the children from East Lyme. This The team brought everyone together. ”
The team: Alex Biscotto, Blake Gianakos, Brayden Santos, Jonathan Menchaca, Kashton Kaczor, Brady Donovan, Elliot Regan, Blake Morrison, Owen Ament, Rocco Russo, Alexander Mitchell and Ben Lubeski.
“I think back to the beginning, in January and February, when we chose the team,” Lorenzo Biscoto said. “I thought we had all the pieces. Then it was about making sure we surrounded the young people with the right people. ” coaches) Zack Ament, Todd Donovan, Jamie Morrison and Jared Feist are second to none. “
It should be noted that although East Lyme won the state name in 2023, a repeat was hardly a layup. Among the reasons: East Lyme is a modest-sized town of about 20,000 people. Their opponent in the state championship series: Stamford, a city of 136,000. The kids felt it at regionals, where Little League made the decision that Connecticut belonged in the “Metro” region and not “New England,” forcing East Lyme to play with groups from New York and upstate. state of New Jersey.
And yet, no one in the travel organization and surrounding areas makes excuses. What did you do during your summer vacation? They lived, laughed and learned tactics that classrooms cannot teach. They have shown us that there is still common ground despite our growing division. They have also made history.
“I think kids are going to be heroes,” Donovan said. “As a parent and coach, the fact that we have managed to unite the region is something you don’t see regularly. Children deserve to be proud of themselves for this. “”.
That’s the view of Day columnist Mike DiMauro.