BRISTOL—There isn’t much left for Bristol’s Little League Softball 12-year-old All-Stars to prove.
They’ve won state championships. They’ve won regional titles. They’ve lost only once in three years.
This week, with the New England Regional in their own backyard, they’ll try to finish a journey that’s been building toward one destination all along: the Little League Softball World Series.
For Bristol, winning has become almost routine.
When this core group first took the field together as 10-year-olds, the program captured a Connecticut state championship. Last summer, as 11 year olds, they followed it with another state title and the Northeast Regional championship, as well.
After claiming the state crown again this summer, Bristol will try to complete the journey by winning the New England Regional in its hometown of at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Little League Leadership Training Center.
The prize waiting at the end is every Little League softball player’s dream: a trip to the Little League Softball World Series in Greenville, North Carolina.
“It’s kind of amazing that they’ve had all of those experiences between nine years old and 12 years old,” Bristol manager Adam Whitlock said. “We could all hope for something that magical and they were living it.”
That’s what makes this run so remarkable.
The championships have piled up, but so have the expectations. Bristol has lost just one All-Star tournament game over the past three summers, an accomplishment made even more impressive considering the competition has only grown stronger.
“So this year was very similar in many respects,” Whitlock said. “But I think you’re playing another level of ball. The 12-year-old teams are really well developed. We saw some really good pitching and some really amazing batters. I was just glad our kids put in the work as well to have been able to earn it.”
That commitment has allowed Bristol to stay a step ahead.
While many championship teams rely on a handful of stars, Bristol’s greatest strength may be its depth.
Whitlock pointed to the pitching staff, where Ava Lefurgy, Avery Collins, Lucy Bastiaanse. and Lucy Kalat have all delivered in big moments, giving Bristol multiple options in the circle depending on the situation.
Then there’s the lineup.
One through 12.
“I confidently say this,” Whitlock said. “The 10, 11, 12 batters in this lineup… they could be one, two or three on many other teams. Rightfully, they could be one, two or three on this team on a given day.”
That balance has shown itself throughout the postseason. One game it’s one player delivering the big hit. The next game it’s someone else.
“Someone may have a tough at-bat and somebody else really battled and came out on top,” Whitlock said. “What they’ve brought together, how they’ve gelled and how they’ve learned what to expect from one another… it’s been pretty awesome.”
Up and down the line-up, these Bristol girls can hit.
Bastiaanse leads things off and she is followed by the likes of Keeva Knowles, Kalat, Makinnley Whitlock, Collins, Mary Thompson, Lefurgey, Dakota Green, Ellie Tiscia, Alex Patterson, FaithMarie Soto, and Juliana Pavlak.
Bristol’s offense has out-scored their opposition by a 93-14 this season.
Now comes the biggest stage yet.
Unlike previous years, Bristol won’t have to travel.
Instead, the New England Regional comes to them.
The team will stay on campus with the other state champions, following Little League’s schedule of practices, meals and activities, but they’ll also enjoy something none of the other teams can claim.
A home crowd.
“I imagine that’s going to be a huge asset,” Whitlock said. “The kids are used to having support behind them. This is probably just a different degree of support.”
Whitlock believes there’s another advantage to playing close to home.
Instead of dealing with the uncertainty of an unfamiliar environment, Bristol’s players already know the fields. They’ve attended past regionals as spectators and have seen what the event looks like from the outside.
Now they’ll experience it from inside the fences.
“I’m hopeful they can tune out all the things that would make this different and just go right back to playing what they know, which is softball between the white lines,” Whitlock said. “I have a feeling, with the maturity these kids have, they’ll be able to handle that.”
That word has surfaced repeatedly throughout Bristol’s run to the New England Regional.
Maturity.
Not just on the field, but away from it.
Whitlock was quick to credit the families as much as the coaches.
“The parents raised these kids right,” he said. “They’re the same people outside of softball. There’s no different personality that steps up during a softball game. They’re just at ease.”
Perhaps that’s why the pressure seems to affect everyone except the players themselves.
“I think it’s the adults,” Whitlock said with a laugh. “The kids… a tense moment for everybody else is a fun moment for them. They just enjoy it.”
That’s been Bristol’s formula for three summers.
One game at a time.
One inning at a time.
One more opportunity to simply enjoy the game they’ve played together for years.
“I like their chances under any circumstance,” Whitlock said. “But the truth is they’re going to play some great ballplayers from other states that work at it just as hard. They just need to go out there and play.”
And if history is any indication, that’s exactly what Bristol does best.
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