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By Stephen Press
Hometown Weekly Staff
As Hillary Clinton, a Wellesley College graduate, occupies headlines, the Little Leaguers of Wellesley South are seeking some national press of their own. With a few key victories and an abundance of grit and guts, the boys are putting themselves on track to compete in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.
After a tight round-robin Section 3 Championship that saw Wellesley South in a three-way group tie with rivals Medford Blue and Medfield - a tie that was broken by run differential - the boys found themselves in the championship game on Saturday, July 23. There, they took care of business, beating Medford by a score of 8-4 and sending themselves into the Massachusetts State Tournament at Morrison Field in Westwood.
A mere five days later, the Wellesley South boys were at it again as they found themselves in a group with district winners Pittsfield American, Fairhaven Acushnet and Beverly. South's Thursday opening game against Fairhaven ended in disappointment as the boys dropped 8-3. Finding themselves in a bit of a hole, they reached for an extra-special effort to salvage their season.
They got it.
The boys won their next two games against Pittsfield (12-1) and Beverly (1-0) to push them into the state championship game. Wellesley's stingy defense and pitching were abundantly evident during their race to the final, as the boys gave up only nine runs over the course of their three round-robin games.
With Wellesley eager to claim the state crown as their own, they took the field at noon on a dreary Sunday, July 31, against Pittsfield. The game itself was all sunshine, however, as South beat Pittsfield, 9-4, securing the Bay State title.
The win sends Wellesley to the New England regional tournament in Bristol, CT. Their first game will be on Monday, August 8, against either Fairfield (the CT state champions) or Bedford (the NH state champions). The 7 p.m. game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
If Wellesley manages victory in the New England regional tournament, they will punch their tickets to Williamsport and the Little League World Series.
