Disappointment did not linger for Dave McCartney. Moments after Saturday's 5-4 loss to New York in the championship of the East Regional Invitational for 9- and 10-year-old softball players, the Fairfield manager looked at the big picture. He liked what he saw.
"There were over 1,000 teams that started in the nine states that were here,'' McCartney said. "To be in the last two out of those 1,000 is unbelievable. We won 16 straight games. I did some math and the odds of going 16-0 are about 100 trillion to 1. That's what these girls are worth to me...."
The Fairfield Little League Girls Softball League will hold a season-ending celebration Monday night at the Sherman Green at 5:30 p.m. The league has much to celebrate. The two-year success of its youngest All-Stars is chief among them. The team won back-to-back state championships. Pitcher Brittany Romero went 14-0 this summer and 26-0 over the past two years. The team won district, section, state and New England championships. McCartney says it was the best run by a Fairfield team in the nine years he has been associated with the league. Fairfield set the bar ridiculously high for teams that follow them.
Romero's pitching carried them, but it was far from a one-girl show. Every player made contributions. In Saturday's championship game, Zoe Holderied relieved in the first inning and did not allow a hit the rest of the way. Anna Rasmussen delivered a clutch two-run triple in the sixth inning in Friday's semifinal win over Pennsylvania. Players took turns delivering big hits and important catches.
Fairfield's 12-year-old All-Stars lost in the Section 1 championship, and other groups made strong run this summer. The softball season may be over. With strong leadership, coaches and players, however, Fairfield's teams seem certain to be heard from again next year.
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