WESTFIELD – It is time for the City of Westfield to get up and catch the wave.
The Westfield Little League Softball 10-Year-Old All-Stars have built a wave of success that has grown every step of the way this tournament season.
What began as a struggle against Easthampton in district play, turned into a sectional sweep of Charlton, and a high level of play in the state championship, dominating Woburn 11-2 and 10-1.
The state softball champs are now on their way to Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania where they will compete against the best 10-year-old Little Leaguers in all of the northeast.
Westfield Little League Softball 10-Year-Old All-Star pitcher Marleigh Monroe winds up against Woburn in Game 2 of the state finals. Westfield swept the best-of-3 series two games to none to advance to the East Regionals. (Staff Photo)
“We are all super excited,” Westfield Little League Softball 10-Year-Old manager Tony Bouchard said. “Everyone is super pumped.”
“We’ve been building momentum as the girls have started to gel and got to know each other against Easthampton,” Bouchard explained. “From the beginning it’s been full Marleigh, and Kelsey got on base and scored.”
The Marleigh that manager Bouchard was talking about is Marleigh Monroe, who struck out nearly a hundred batters in All-Star play this season. Kelsey, the other player he referenced, is none other than his daughter, Kelsey Bouchard.
“The next series,” manager Bouchard said, ”Ali LaPanne goes 3-for-5 with seven RBIs and 4-for-4 with six RBIs. Then in our final (state) game, all the bats were hitting. All of the girls started to find their groove, shook off their nerves and said ‘I belong there.’”
Westfield advanced to the East Region Invitational in Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania where it will take on teams from all over New England and, if fortunate enough to advance, possibly others from the Mid-Atlantic region.
Westfield opens regional action Saturday against Rhode Island at 12:30 p.m., followed by Connecticut (Sun., July 30), Vermont (Aug. 1), and Maine (Aug. 2). The top two teams in the New England pool will then square off against the top Mid-Atlantic teams (New Jersey, New York, Mountain Top, and Pennsylvania) in Thursday’s semifinals. The championship and consolation games will be held Fri., Aug. 4.
“We have to come out strong, we have to come out focused, and we have to come out fired up so we’re not caught off guard,” manager Bouchard said. “We want to show them what Massachusetts and Westfield has to offer.”
No matter what their record shows in the wins and losses column after the final swing of their bats, there are likely other lessons that will be learned along the way.
“We are going to see how far we can push to,” Bouchard said. “Every game we win, every series we win, we just add to this whole ride we’ve been on. I hope this is a building block for these girls for years to come.”
The Westfield 10-Year-Old All-Stars are: Shea Hurley (#1), Julia Bonfitto (#2), Morgan Gagnon (#5), Rachel Bonfitto (#6), Kelsey Bouchard (#7), Mia Tavares (#9), Grace Burke (#10), Rylie Gour (#11), Marleigh Monroe (#13), Paige Hutkoski (#14), Ali LaPanne (#16), Grace LeDuc (#22), and Kiley Dougherty (#23).
LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL STATE CHAMPION
Westfield 10-Year-Olds
