HAMILTON-It had been 19 years since a team from District 12 had won a 10-year-old Little League state championship. But the wait is over for the local teams, as Nottingham Little League brought the banner back to Hamilton for the first time in almost two decades. The lads from Nottingham won a winner-take-all contest against Randolph West, which had...
SS Jake Pope and 2B Ryan White combine to make a play for Nottingham the 10's HAMILTON-It had been 19 years since a team from District 12 had won a 10-year-old Little League state championship.
But the wait is over for the local teams, as Nottingham Little League brought the banner back to Hamilton for the first time in almost two decades.
The lads from Nottingham won a winner-take-all contest against Randolph West, which had fought back out of the losers bracket to force the decisive game against the Hamilton Square gang. But Nottingham won the state final 13-3, to win the league's first 10-year-old crown since 1997.
Led by strong pitching and defense, and a potent offense, Nottingham Little League stormed through District 12 and Section 3 play, before bringing home the state crown. It advanced to East Regional play, but was knocked out in the pool play portion of the tournament.
Manager Adam Bendas took the reigns, and was honored to lead such a talented squad.
"It is huge for us," Bendas said. "We are the first 10-year-old team in 19 years to be able to do that. It is a great honor. Now, we have fall ball, and most of the team will stay together. It is a totally different sport to when we played. You are trying to play year-round to catch up to the other states. The game has evolved now. You used to play the 12 games of rec then play all-stars, and be done. Now, it is a year-round sport.
Our next task at hand is to keep these guys winning. We have to go back to what we were doing at the beginning, which is to keep working hard, not taking anything for granted, and taking it one game and one inning at a time. We have to keep that mindset, but there are no guarantees at a repeat next year. These kids will keep working hard and are dedicated. I have never seen a group that has been all-in. Every one of them. We played together for almost three months, and these kids were in from the first practice to the last game we played. Right to the last pitch up in Rhode Island.
It is pretty awesome to see. It is rewarding as a coach, from that standpoint, that you are putting all this time in, and the reward you get is from these kids."
Dominick Vizzoni was one of the main pitchers, along with Dan Graziano Jr. (whose father played on the 1987 Nottingham Little League state champions), for the team. He knew the background (five 12-year-old state titles, one 11-year-old, and now two 10-year-old) of the league, and wanted to bring home a title to Hamilton.
"I know the history," Vizzoni (4-1, 1 save) said. "It is pretty big for us. It was a great experience, going to Rhode Island. Now we have to stay healthy, and develop some pitching for next year."
Ryan White (2B) and Jake Pope (SS) played up the middle, and were keys to the solid defense behind the pitching.
"It felt awesome," White, who hit .373, said. "Since the beginning, I felt confident in my team, and we won. Just to play in the regions at our age was awesome."
"It was a great experience," Pope, who was second on the team with a .528 average, said. "We have to keep working hard as a team. We will be back out there in the fall, trying to get some more at-bats and games."
Joey Bendas talks to Dominick Vizzoni during a Nottingham 10's game Joey Bendas, who caught, pitched, and played first base, was another key cog in the squad.
"The last 10-year-old state champs was 19 years ago," Joey Bendas said. "So it felt pretty good to do that again. It was a fun run this year. We have to keep working hard over the next two years. We have the fall season. It is good, because we play the same teams we play in all-stars, and it gives us a chance to face their pitching. It is really fun."