SEYMOUR—The first over-the-fence home run Courtney Barton ever hit got her a cat.
The last 17 she hit earlier this month got her a trip to the 2025 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Barton, a 13-year-old, rising 8th grader at Seymour Middle School, will be one of 16 participants—eight females and eight males—to take part in the final round of the T-Mobile Little League Baseball & Softball Home Run Derby next month.
The event will be held on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 5 p.m. The final round will be televised on ESPN on Friday, Aug. 22, at 7 p.m.
Barton has already won her local championship (for the third straight year) and her performance with the George J Hummel Little League earned her an invite to take part in the East Regional competition in Georgia.
“At first, I didn’t understand what it all meant,” Barton admitted. “I got invited to Georgia? What is that?”
Here’s what it is: The Seymour-based Hummel Little League has traditionally taken part in the T-Mobile Derby, but Barton’s performance was so impressive this year (she hit 40 home runs total) that she was invited to be one of 20 female participants nationwide to compete in the next round.
From the Georgia competition, and from the West Coast competition, the top four finishers from each qualified for the national finals in Williamsport.
Barton hit 17 home runs in Georgia to finish second in the field, securing her spot.
The competition was held inside Coolray Field in Gwinnet Country, Ga., the home of the Atlanta Braves Triple A affiliate Gwinnet Stripers.
“We had 90 seconds each round and I saw the leaderboard that showed how many we had and I was in second,” Barton recalled. “I was excited about that. Then at the end I realized I was in the top eight and I was going on to the final round.”
Barton will compete against Hadley Thayer (Hermon, Maine), Reagan Lohr (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.), Emma Lindhe (Tallmadge, Ohio), Aubrey Frederito (Reno, Nev.), Jayla Wilson (Sante Fe, N.M.), Olivia DeRespini (Gig Harbor, Wash)., and Lanea Gabriel of Lynnwood, Wash., on the girls’ side.
“Georgia was so amazing,” said Meredith Barton, Courtney’s mom. “We got to go to the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, as well. The kids got to have dinner together and they just did a really nice job making sure the kids had time together. I’m sure it’ll be the same in Pennsylvania.”
It only seemed natural that Courtney Barton would find her way into the sports world.
Her dad was a baseball player, her mom played softball and her older sister, Skylar, played multiple sports at Seymour High School, until she graduated these spring, and will play basketball for Endicott starting in the fall. Her brother, Matthew, is a rising freshman at Seymour and also grew up playing multiple sports, so it was only natural that Courtney would play, as well.
“I’ve always been watching them play and I probably started playing myself around four years old,” Courtney said. “I’ve been playing for so many years.”
When asked who she credited with creating her power-hitting prowess, Courtney was more than happy to share the credit.
“I’ve had so many coaches since I was little from a bunch of different teams, so it’s definitely taken a village,” she said, “but I think the main person has been my mom and dad because they’ve really supported me in everything. Hearing all the things they did and then watching my siblings has been amazing.”
Barton has always been a solid pitcher since she first picked up the yellow ball, but even when she started playing travel ball at 10U the hitting took time to develop.
“I really struggled with it,” she said.
Late one middle school season, though, she saw her batting average and liked the number. Then, she started hitting triples.
In other words, she started believing in herself.
“I just figured out how to hit it far and make contact,” Barton said.
She had a running bet with her parents that if she ever hit an over-the-fence home run in a game she could get a cat.
During this year’s All-Star District 3 tournament, Barton did just that in a game at Union City.
“That was really crazy to me,” Barton said with a laugh. “I’ve wanted a cat for years.”
The natural name for the Barton’s future feline friend would have been Dinger. Instead, once the softball season ends, Skylar is sent off to college, and the family settles back in to a routine, Benjamin will join the Barton family as a promise kept.
Barton also recently wrapped her most recent travel season with the CT Rapids 12U-Blue squad.
“We just want to thank George J. Hummel Little League and the Watertown Rapids, they’ve always been so supportive and accommodating,” Meredith Barton said.
Next month’s trip to Pennsylvania will put an exclamation point on an incredible 2024-25 softball ride.
“My goal down there is just to hold on for as long as I can,” Barton said. “There are so many girls out there who are really good players.”
Barton isn’t too worried about feeling any pressure of competing in front of a bigger-than-usual crowd during the LLWS.
She has felt plenty of pressure in her role as a pitcher and knows how to deal with such extremes.
“I’ve had a lot of people at my games before and I’m good at handling stress when pitching in games,” she said.
She is using her sister’s old bat and she knows the comfort level of its length and weight.
“You know the youngest, they always get the hand-me-downs,” Meredith Barton said.
Courtney Barton doesn’t care where the bat came from, only that she knows she hits well it in her hands.
After one more year at Seymour Middle School, Courtney Barton is excited to follow in her siblings’ footsteps and get to Seymour High, as well.
All of that is a year away and there is plenty more softball (and other sports) to be played between now and then.
And, Courtney Barton hopes, a few more home runs to celebrate along the way.
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