Published in the July 28, 2017 edition
THE MELROSE Little League 12-year-old All-Stars are on to the State Finals in North Reading where they will compete with three other teams to be crowned as the Massachusetts State Champions. This team is the first Melrose Little League 12-year-old team to make the State Finals since 1983. Pictured front row left to right: Sean Thomas, Andrew Izzi, Brendan Zinck, Stephen Fogarty, Gavin Donohue, C.J. Moriconi and Jack Lavery; back row left to right: Ronan Donohue, Jack Merillo, Drew Harrington, Zachary Federico, Alec Taitano and Jake Bird. Missing from photo: Will Dugan.
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
NORTH READING — It’s only a 20-minute drive from Lewis Monk FIeld in Melrose to Benevento Memorial Field in North Reading. That’s good news for a certain group of 14 Melrose baseball players.
The 2017 Melrose 12-year-old All-stars have made it to the Massachusetts Little League State Tournament, and while the boys won’t have much time to reminisce during the brief ride to State’s, their journey to North Reading has been one that the people of Melrose will never forget.
Melrose Little League had to win two separate tournaments to make the program’s first State Finals since 1983.
“This is such an awesome group,” said Melrose manager Lou Izzi. “They’re not only very good players, but great kids who are a pleasure to be around and coach.”
The host 12’s won three games at Lewis Monk to take the District 12 championship. They beat Medford 11-7, East Boston 6-2, and Medford again, 2-0, to become the first Melrose Little League 12-year-old team to win District 12 since 1992.
Then it was on to Ryan Field in Charlestown when on July 19, Melrose started their Section 3 Tournament run by beating Allston-Brighton, 7-1.
Melrose then lost their next game 22-2 against Wellesley. That meant the boys couldn’t lose another game in the tournament. They responded to that tough loss by beating Walpole in a close game, 5-4. That set the table for a rematch against powerhouse Wellesley, a scary prospect for most teams. Not this one.
In the words of Melrose manager Lou Izzi, the team simply “bounced back,” after the first Wellesley game, and had no intentions of ending their magical run.
So, with a fearless foray into the championship game, Melrose shut down and shocked Wellesley, 3-1. On to the State Championship.
This isn’t your father’s Melrose Little League team. That is unless you’re Stephen Fogarty, a member of the 2017 12’s whose father, Stephen, played on the 1983 sectional champs, coached by his father Vincent. Stephen Fogarty Sr is an unofficial coach of this team, often providing advice on the pressures of the State Finals. Better to hear it from somebody who has been there.
As for the official coaches; Dan Harrington, Cory Thomas and Izzi will work on a game plan to get ready for Gloucester who they played after press time, Milton National who they play today, and Holden who they play tomorrow. It will be a tough balance for this group to maintain. It is important to relish in the moment, take a deep breath and enjoy it, but also vital to block out the distractions and focus on baseball. North Reading Little League is doing there part to make that easier.
“We’ve been so impressed with how organized they are,” said Izzi. “North Reading Little League President, Eddie Madden, has been very communicative, and the information they have provided is making it easy for us to focus on baseball.”
In addition to tipping his cap to his coaches, Izzi also talked about the huge impact that the Melrose community has had on this team.
“We have received such tremendous support from the community through attendance at our games, emails, texts, etc. It has just been an overwhelming amount of support that is really great for the kids to see.”
As this historic team continues their journey that could potentially lead them to Bristol for the New England Regionals, and Williamsport, for the Little League World Series, they will hope to see Melrose fans cheering loudly in North Reading this weekend. After all, it’s only 20 minutes away.
