NCLL Wins State Softball Title

Just minutes from playing for the New York state championship, the New City Little League 11-12 softball all-star team was relaxed, so relaxed in fact they decided it was time to dance.

And so with their opponent Camden taking field practice, nearly all members of team piled out of the dugout and stood in front of it ready to dance almost the instant the first note of “YMCA” by Village People starting blaring through Bailey’s Field in Orangeburg.

Roughly two hours later, the girls were dancing to “YMCA” once again in front of the dugout, this time all wearing white t-shirts declaring them the winners New York State Majors Division softball championships tournament thanks to a 4-2 victory against Camden. It was only part of the festive atmosphere after centerfielder Reese Guevarra raced in a caught a line drive to end the game and tournament. Guevarra didn’t stop running, either, instead throwing the ball to the ground and joining in the team hug that had already started near the third base line.

The girls and coaches hugged while parents and friends cheered and whistled them on. Someone even blew an airhorn. After returning to the dugout so the announcer could reintroduce each player and coach from both teams, New City was awarded the state championship banner, which the girls took on a victory lap around the outfield while Queen’s “We Are The Champions” blasted throughout the field. After returning home, they celebration continued. A few girls gave their manager Andy Kaye a bath using their water and Gatorade bottles, and then turned on each other with the drinks. Family and friends were allowed on the field at that point, so many of the girls hugged and posed for pictures with their families, but many stopped to dance once more to “YMCA.” And when “Cotton Eye Joe” started playing, they left their families to get in a row from the pitcher’s mound to the first base line to all dance to that as well.

“We’re all so close as friends and teammates,” Sarah Brauer said. “We’re a crazy team. We do everything together.”

Brauer was on the mound for the state title game, pitching all six innings, including the first three when she didn’t allow a baserunner.

“Sarah was amazing,” New City rightfielder Jayde Marks said. “She couldn’t have pitched better.”

Brauer give up three hits and struck out five while walking one. However, Kaye said the way to measure if Brauer pitched well isn’t runs, hits, strikeouts or anything like that.

“The way we measure Sarah is by her smile. If she’s smiling, we know she’s going to go out there and pitch well for us,” Kaye said. “Today, she was smiling from the time we started warming up and through the entire game.”

But Brauer herself said she didn’t win the game alone Tuesday night.

“Everyone’s performance was outstanding,” she said.

She helped out early by her infield, especially shortstop Melanie Lerche. In the first inning, the first two batters grounded to Lerche at short, who fielded both clearly and threw over to first in time to get both runners. In the second, Lerche picked a hard-hit ball to short and threw out the runner again. Also in the second, first baseman Deana Prochnau scooped a throw out of the dirt to end the inning and keep Camden off the base paths.

“After the first couple of innings, I was relaxed, confident and knew I was on my game,” Lerche said.

Lerche didn’t just help out her team in the field, she also did at the plate. In the top of the first inning, with catcher Sara Herskowitz on second, Lerche ripped a single up the middle to plate New City’s first run of the game.

“[Camden’s pitcher] threw it low and over the middle of the plate,” Lerche said. “I knew it was a good pitch and swung hard.”

New City upped their lead in the top of the fourth, when Taylor Adolff belted a double to deep left center, splitting the outfielders, to score New City’s second run. Adolff came home on the next batter, when Carli Solicito bunted, the catcher fielded it and threw to first, but the first baseman misplayed the ball, allowing it to get partially up the fight field line. Solicito got to second on the play, and scored one batter later when Guevarra grounded to third, and the third baseman overthrew the ball to first. Guevarra raced around the bases to end up at third on the overthrow, but didn’t come in to score.

The win was New City’s second in three tries against Camden, which handed New City’s its first loss of the summer on Saturday. New City bounced back to win Monday night 4-2, and Tuesday night again by that score. New City’s Gianna Lia said the team was “more prepared” for those last two games against Camden, and had a better feel for what to expect from Camden.

The summer isn’t over for the New City girls yet, either. Starting Friday, they will compete in the Little League East Regional Softball Tournament in Bristol, CT. There, they will compete in the mid-Atlantic bracket along with the state champs from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. Also competing in Bristol will be the state champions in the New England bracket, from Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine. One team from those two brackets will win the East Regional and compete in the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, OR. New City’s first game is Friday at 5 p.m. against Perryville Community Little League, the champions from Maryland.

“We need to keep practicing on the little things,” Marks said of how New City can continue winning.

This is exactly the spot the members of the New City team pictured themselves at the beginning of the summer. Solicito said the team was “absolutely 100 percent confident” they could win the state crown from the “very first day” of the summer. Kaye had a similar thought, but even earlier.

“I thought we had a good shot during the Little League season,” he said. “When we were thinking about girls for the team, we thought if this group could come together and nobody turned us down, we could pull it off.”

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