The CT Softball Blog

BROOKLYN — Five years ago, Brooklyn Little League softball didn’t have enough players to field a Majors Division team.

Today, they’re District 12 champions.

For manager Ben Wakely, the championship isn’t simply another banner to hang in the outfield. It’s proof of what can happen when an entire community decides to invest in its youngest athletes and the athletes themselves become the program’s biggest recruiters.

“It’s kind of been building,” Wakely said. “Five years ago we had zero Major softball teams in Brooklyn.”

Now they have one of Connecticut’s best.

Brooklyn entered the District 12 tournament with confidence after rolling its undefeated regular-season Major Division team directly into All-Stars. Unlike many district champions that combine players from neighboring towns, Brooklyn stood on its own, bringing 13 players from one small northeastern Connecticut community together for a championship run.

“We were pretty hopeful we’d have a good chance to win,” Wakely said.

The success hasn’t happened overnight.

Last summer, Wakely coached Brooklyn’s 10U team to a district championship.

Now those experiences have merged into a championship team that continues pushing the program forward.

Wakely credits an enthusiastic Little League board, dedicated coaches and, perhaps most importantly, the girls themselves.

“We have a few that play travel ball, and they want to play with their friends,” Wakely said. “They talk it up at school and we get new girls coming out every year, even 11- and 12-year-olds who have never played before. It’s nice to see them being their own champions.”

Brooklyn’s success begins in the pitching circle, where Lilly LeBlanc and Evie Powell complement one another with contrasting styles. Powell brings power while LeBlanc changes speeds, giving opposing hitters two completely different looks throughout a game.

Behind the plate, Cameron Ferra handles the majority of the catching duties while also rotating to third base alongside Adyson Benoit. When one moves behind the plate, the other slides across the diamond, giving Brooklyn flexibility without sacrificing defense.

First base belongs to Maggie Wakely, while Aaisley Torres anchors the infield at shortstop. Both LeBlanc and Powell rotate to second base whenever they aren’t pitching.

In the outfield, Calla Gilbert patrols center field, with Lizzie Wood holding down right field despite battling through a chipped bone in her pinky suffered during a school kickball game just before the tournament.

“She’s been battling through it for travel ball and All-Stars,” Wakely said. “She’s played a solid right field for us.”

Nova Stiles and Gabby Pena split time in left field, while Jasabelle Soriano, Lyla Flores and Kayleigh Tegtmeir provide valuable depth and energy whenever their number is called.

Brooklyn’s offensive identity isn’t built around towering home runs.

Instead, Wakely embraces a style that forces opponents to make quick decisions.

“We try to play some small ball,” he said. “That’s the fun part of softball to me.”

With Torres setting the table from the leadoff spot and Wakely’s daughter, Maggie, capable of dropping down bunts from the two-hole, Brooklyn looks to manufacture runs one base at a time.

“We like to run,” Wakely said. “We’ve taken a lot of backside bases. That’s how we’ve scored most of our runs.”

It’s an approach that places constant pressure on opposing defenses while rewarding aggressive, fundamentally sound softball.

Now the challenge grows.

Sectional play immediately pits district champions against district champions, meaning mistakes become fewer and opportunities become harder to find.

“We tell the girls they belong,” Wakely said. “Once you get to sectionals, there aren’t as many errors you’re going to take advantage of.”

Even so, Brooklyn enters believing it belongs.

For a town that only recently rebuilt its softball program, simply arriving on this stage is an accomplishment.

Winning a district championship without combining with another community makes it even more meaningful.

In a small town where participation once seemed uncertain, 13 girls helped change the story.

Now they’re hoping it’s only another chapter in Brooklyn’s remarkable climb.

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