It took four years for the Norwalk Riptide's 12-and-under team to compile a 24-1 record. All of the games occurred over the past three months, but manager Wally Hurd started with a core group of eight players when they were nine years old and they have developed into Babe Ruth champions.
Norwalk will represent Connecticut in the Babe Ruth Regional tournament this weekend in Lancaster, N.H. The Riptide opens play Friday against Vermont at 9:30 a.m. The eight-team tournament concludes Sunday.
Hurd has built his team around pitching and defense. His daughter, Amy, is one of the team's mound mainstays along with Ryan LaJoie, Ali Brown and Julia Hall. "Pitching and defense, that's what I talk to them about before every practice and every game,'' Wally says. "You can always find a way to score."
Norwalk earned its trip to the New England Regional by going 4-0 in the state tournament, including three wins over Stamford. Ironically, Stamford came back to hand Norwalk its only loss, 5-1, in a game last week. Norwalk has made the regional round before, but not recently. It has never made the World Series. The regional winner advances to the World Series beginning Aug. 7 in Alachua, Fla.
"They just have to relax and if they play the way they have all year long, we should have success,'' Wally said. Catcher Becky Stefanatos said one of the team's strength is its unity. "We get along real well, and it's fun because we've been together for such a long time,'' Becky said.
Norwalk plays two games on Friday and on Saturday at 8 a.m. The top two teams from each pool then advance to double elimination. The finals are scheduled for Sunday.
Other team members include Nicole Bonanni, Erin Frederick, Leslie Garcia, Mallory Rochefort, Allison Hall and Mariah Ventrella. Hurd's coaches are Mike Bonanni and Rob Rochefort.
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