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08/26/2024 02:52 AMSummer always seems to fly by, and before we know it, school is back in session for the fall. The hot season, though, was no ordinary one for Head Coach Chris Frey and the Guilford Little League 11-U All Star Team, as his squad found themselves as the runners-up in the state finals this year after winning both Districts and Sectionals.
Frey, who has been involved with coaching Little League since 2018 when his family moved to Guilford, saw his young players continue to take on new challenges throughout the course of the season and tackle each one with their best effort.
“For All Stars, the first step is the Districts. There are three games, and we won all three,” Frey said. “We beat a team from Old Saybrook, Westbrook, and Clinton called Shoreline. From there, you move onto Sectionals, which is a four-team tournament with a three-game series.”
In the late half of June, the Guilford All Stars played in the Districts against Madison on June 23 (won 6-0), Shoreline on June 25 (won 12-0), and on June 29 in the District Championship (won 5-1).
When facing Madison, Will DeMarseilles (pitcher, catcher) pitched 2.1 innings with four strikeouts (Ks), Theo Drake (pitcher, shortstop) went 2.2 innings pitched (IP) with two Ks, and John Rubinstein (pitcher, third base) threw one inning and recorded two Ks. Cole Frey (center fielder) had two hits, two runs batted in (RBI), and a stolen base.
In the game against the Shoreline team, DeMarseilles pitched two innings with five strikeouts, and Drake threw two innings with four strikeouts. At the plate, DeMarseilles had two hits, scored two runs, and delivered an RBI. Jack Bello (first base) had two hits and scored a run.
In the District Championship game, DeMarseilles went 2.1 innings on the mound while recording six strikeouts, Drake threw three innings with four Ks, and Rubinstein pitched 1.1 innings. Additionally, DeMarseilles had two hits, an RBI, and two runs scored, while Kyle Frey had two hits, a walk, two RBIs, and a run scored. Bello added two hits and a run scored.
Frey had seen his team fall short of its goal in the past, and with a core returning group from last summer’s squad, he was determined to have his athletes change the narrative this time around.
“We had 12 players on the team this season: 10 11-year-olds, one 10-year-old, and one nine-year-old. I coached the 10-U All Stars last year, and nine of the players were on that team,” said Frey. “Last year, we won the Districts and lost in the Sectional finals. We really wanted to improve on what we accomplished last year along with playing with new kids. We were very excited to improve this season.”
Although the All Stars fell to Fairfield National in the state finals game, Frey noted that the experience up and down the roster allowed the players to beat strong competition along the way.
“The strength of our team is our depth. Our lineup one through 12 is very solid,” said Frey. “A lot of teams have their top players at the beginning of their lineup. For us, that was a definite strength this season, having a lot of depth on the entirety of our roster.”
On June 8, the All Stars began their run in the Sectional games against Glastonbury National, winning 8-7. On June 9, they played East Lyme/Salem, winning 10-3, and on June 12, the All-Stars took on Glastonbury National and won the Sectional Championships with a final score of 7-3.
In the first game against Glastonbury National, Kyle Frey went 1.2 IP with three Ks, Drake threw three innings with four Ks, and Rubinstein pitched 1.1 innings. Rubinstein also had two hits, an RBI, a run scored, and a walk, while Jack Eaton knocked in two hits, two RBIs, a run scored, and a walk. Connor Scharf (outfielder) came in clutch with two hits, including the huge walk-off hit with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to drive in Kyle Frey.
For the remainder of the Sectional games against East Lyme/Salem, DeMarseilles had 2.2 IP with three Ks, while Rubinstein (2.1 IP, three Ks) and Eaton (one IP) also contributed to the victories. Nolan Christofferson (outfielder) had two hits (one single, one double), an RBI, and a run scored. In the Sectional Championship game, Kyle Frey pitched two innings with four Ks, Rubinstein threw three innings with five Ks, and Drake threw one inning with one strikeout. Elijah Jonathan also had two hits, an RBI, and scored two runs.
As the All Star Team made its way through a variety of tough opponents, the athletes also had to face obstacles on and off the field that proved not to slow them down, but they rather further displayed their resiliency.
“It was challenging playing four straight games for the state games, which makes it difficult for your pitchers and catchers. In that case, you have to be very strategic in limiting pitch counts. If they pitch too much on one day, they are not available for a certain number of days per the little league rules,” said Frey. “That was something that the coaches had to put a big deal of thought into. We made adjustments in order to make sure that we were able to win those games, as well as setting us up to be competitive in the days to come.”
Kicking off the state runner-up run, the All Stars played an eight-inning game (one extra inning) against South Windsor. Kyle Frey (2.2 IP, two Ks, one hit), Rubinstein (1.1 IP, two Ks), DeMarseilles (two IP, one K), and Eaton (one IP), were key contributors. In the squad’s win against Simsbury, Rubinstein (2.1 IP, one K), Drake (two hits, three runs, walk), and DeMarseilles (three hits in two singles and one double, two runs, and one RBI) led the team to the win column. Oscar Armster (right fielder) also recorded two hits, one run, and one RBI, while Eaton had one double and three RBIs.
When facing Fairfield National, DeMarseilles (0.1 IP), Drake (1.2 IP, one K), and Scharf (four IP, two Ks, no runs allowed) fueled the team. DeMarseilles had one hit and one walk.
Another challenge that the All Stars faced along the way was losing a key player in Callum Godfrey (outfielder) after the district games. Despite the tough hole in the lineup, the team maintained focus and never lost sight of the goal.
“Callum Godfrey got hurt after Districts which was a big loss in the middle of our lineup. He still showed up to every practice and game,” said Frey. “The team rallied around him and dedicated our continued success to him.”
Frey is assisted by Chad Eaton, Klaas Armster, and Rich Bello.
The full 11-U roster is comprised of Armster, Bello, Christofferson, DeMarseilles, Drake, Eaton, Cole Frey, Kyle Frey, Godfrey, Jonathan, Rubinstein, and Scharf.