By Rick Menning
MILFORD, CT -- Rally mode to the finish line, even though this year's ending was not as long as in the past two All-Star tournament seasons.
Leaving it all on the diamond with their usual conviction and purpose, the Milford softball Junior and Major division All-Star teams from Brewster Field were right there ready to take the brass ring again.
And despite not reaching the World Series this time around, there is plenty of pride to go around as the girls in the blue and gold uniforms once again stood tall in their respective regional showcases.
In fact, it was their fighting spirit that nearly catapulted both squads to a third straight trip to Kirkland, Washington (Juniors) and Greenville, North Carolina (Majors).
Reaching the regional championship game yet again for the opportunity to advance to the ultimate showcases has become a summertime rite of passage for the talented and determined 14-under and 12-under age group athletes.
When the spotlight is shining its brightest, inside one dugout can be found the hearts of warriors. Comebacks are always in the equation, and that was evident in the regional title matchups against Indiana, Pennsylvania (14-unders) and Cranston, Rhode Island (12-unders).
A huge show of force
Milford's Junior Division team displayed complete dominance against its East Region opponents heading into the regional title showdown.
The host squad at Stankye Field in Orange outscored seven state champions by a combined 68-16 and played a very strong Pennsylvania squad for the crown. Trailing 7-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning of the seven-inning finale, the hosts kept their hopes alive with a pair of runs and threatened in the seventh before the last out was recorded.
Although the final score was 7-3, it was not indicative of the way Milford battled and battled in every inning and made life miserable for Pennsylvania.
Gabby Rodriguez, who doubled to center in the fourth inning, ripped a two-run single to spark the sixth-inning rally. Her hit scored Maddie Deldin (walk) and Lily Stankevich (single).
Like Rodriguez, Deldin and Stankevich each came through with clutch hits in the afternoon contest.
Deldin provided an RBI double as Chloe Capalbo (single to center field) raced home to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the third inning, and Stankevich clouted a two-bagger for Milford's first hit in the first inning.
The East Region hosts gave it one more shot to rally back in the bottom of the seventh inning as Cayleigh Glynn and Maddy Bonanno connected for consecutive singles with two outs. However, Pennsylvania was able to get the final out and secure the win.
More plate firepower
Milford's Junior Division girls weren't the only ones whose bats came alive with amazing force at regionals.
The Connecticut Major Division champions crossed home plate 44 times while grinding their way through the elimination bracket. And despite losing twice to Rhode Island, the second and decisive game showed Milford's ability to give it their best shot.
After suffering a 13-3 setback to their Ocean State neighbors on opening night at Breen Field in Bristol, Milford displayed its desire to zip through their next three challenges enroute to the finals and a rematch with the Cranston girls.
Rhode Island again took an early lead and was up 4-0 through three innings but Milford charged back with three runs over the next two innings to trail by only one at 4-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
Unfortunately, Cranston tacked on two insurance runs to achieve a 6-3 victory and the New England title.
"It was a tough ending but our girls fought through and played hard, and they gave that Rhode Island team a heck of a run at the end there," Milford manager Joe Urban said. "They stuck with it and didn't give up."
Nia Richardson, the No. 12 hitter in the lineup, laced a perfectly placed triple into the gap with one out in the fourth inning, and she subsequently scored on Ella Urban's RBI grounder to shortstop for Milford's initial run of the contest. Richardson also had a multi-hit game with a pair of singles against New Hampshire.
Then, in the very next inning, Lilly Kalagher and Brynn Ayres lashed out run-scoring singles to provide Milford's final two runs of the tournament season.
Coming off a no-hitter in which she struck out eight in a 10-0 shutout of Massachusetts, pitcher Marina Cosmas struck out at least one batter in every inning of the finale vs. Rhode Island.
"Marina takes the ball and says 'let's go'. She's definitely one of the hardest workers on the team," Urban noted. "She picks the team up, and the team picks her up. That's what these girls do and I couldn't be more proud of them."
Command performances
Offensively against Massachusetts, Teagan Liphardt's run-scoring double -- the only extra-base hit in the game -- enabled Ella Urban (leadoff walk) to cross home plate to make it 1-0.
That score held up until the fourth inning when Milford erupted for seven runs with Brynn Ayres' two-run single to center field being the key smash. She also singled home the "mercy rule" run in the two-run fifth inning.
Milford also mercy ruled New Hampshire 15-2, and Maine 13-1, for its other two victories in the New England Region.
Second baseman Kendall Upchurch was outstanding with her glove in all five games as she had seven putouts including two great catches on live drives.
Milford's top contenders
Milford Junior Division Girls Softball East Region Runners-up Team Roster (in alphabetical order): Emma Bonanno, Maddy Bonanno, Norah Bove, Chloe Capalbo, Leah Corris, Maddie Deldin, Cayleigh Glynn, Nyla Jaser, Dani Kotansky, Addison McKenna-Hansen, Gabby Rodriguez and Lily Stankevich.
Milford Major Division Girls Softball New England Region Runners-up Team Roster (in alphabetical order): Brynn Ayres, Sofia Capalbo, Mya Corris, Marina Cosmas, Grace Dubin, Dylan Gaglione, Lilly Kalagher, Teagan Liphardt, Paige Perry, Nia Richardson, Kendall Upchurch and Ella Urban.
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