THE MELROSE 12-year-old All-Stars played in the 2017 Massachusetts Little League State Finals last weekend at Benevento Park in North Reading. Melrose, who was one of four finalists to make it to the state championship, got to meet Red Sox legend Tim Wakefield during the opening ceremonies on Thursday. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)
Published in the August 4, 2017 edition.
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
NORTH READING — The 2017 Melrose Little League 12-year-old All-Stars played in Melrose’s first state championship since 1983 last weekend at Benevento Field in North Reading.
Melrose fought hard but couldn’t come away with a win against Gloucester, Holden or Milton. Holden would go on to win the tournament and advance to the New England Regional. At the end of the day, when this team looks back at the best run in Melrose Little League history, it won’t be the results that they remember from the Massachusetts State Finals, it will be the experience they got to share with each other.
“This is something that they will remember for the rest of their lives,” said Melrose manager Lou Izzi. “They’ll tell their grandchildren about it. They are one of the four best teams in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts out of over 200 teams, and the fact that they reached this pinnacle is fantastic.”
Melrose took Gloucester, the tournament runner-up, to extra innings but couldn’t hold on. Melrose got hits from Gavin Donohue, Ronan Donohue, Drew Harrington and Jake Bird.
Against Milton, Melrose got a leadoff home run from Gavin Donohue and a hit from Sean Thomas. In their last game against Holden, Brendan Zinck and Jack Merullo each had a hit and an RBI. Zachary Federico, Jack Lavery, CJ Moriconi, Alec Taitano, Stephen Fogarty, Andrew Izzi and Will Dugan all played hard and fought to the very end for Melrose.
“This is by far the best team that we have put forward in a long time,” said District 4 administrator Bernie Colbert. “I’m really proud of them. They have a great coaching staff and the parents are awesome.”
Those parents and plenty of other Melrose supporters showed up all three days to bring the noise for Melrose. The support that the community showed for this team all summer is sure to be one of the first things these All-Stars will think of when they finally get a chance to relax and reminisce. What else will they remember from North Reading? How about getting to meet a Red Sox legend? Tim Wakefield threw out the first pitch during opening ceremonies, congratulated the players and told them to enjoy the moment.
They will also remember Frank Trischitta, better known as “Uncle Frankie.” Uncle Frankie participated in North Reading Little League’s uncle program, designed to provide each team with a point person to help players, coaches and parents with anything they might need throughout the whole weekend. Uncle Frankie chose Melrose because his wife, Lisa Dias, grew up in Melrose. It ended up being a perfect match.
“I started talking with Lou early in the process. He said the kids wanted to call me Uncle Frank I said I prefer Uncle Frankie,” said Trischitta with a laugh. “We clicked right away. After 24 hours I felt like I’ve known them my whole life. This team should be really proud of what they accomplished this year.”
“I’m sure all of the uncles are good,” added Izzi. “But we got the cream of the crop with Uncle Frankie.”
These memories are what the 2017 Melrose All-Stars, the best team in Melrose Little League history, will remember 10, 20, 50, even 70 years from now.
“When they look back at this, there will be nothing but positive memories. Opening ceremony with Tim Wakefield, the awesome atmosphere, supportive community and warm welcome,” said Izzi. “We’re proud of them as baseball players and we’re proud of them as kids. It’s a great group.”
