Massapequa International 12U softball team reflects on another deep tournament run

The bar was set almost impossibly high for this summer’s Massapequa International 12U softball team.

After Massapequa won the Little League Softball World Series last year, there were hopes that this year’s group of girls would reach the same level of success. But this past week’s Mid-Atlantic Region tournament served as a reminder of just how difficult it is to not only win the World Series but to get there.

Massapequa lost to West Point (Pennsylvania), 5-1, in the tournament’s championship game Friday night at Breen Field in Bristol, Connecticut.

“This is the best tournament in the world,” Massapequa manager Rich Eaton said. “We may be the second-best team in the world. If the best team is in your region and they go win the World Series . . . maybe we’re number two or 10 or 12, you never know. It’s my favorite tournament in the world.”

Massapequa opened the tournament with a 10-0 win over Middletown (Delaware) on Sunday but fell to West Point, 6-0, on Monday.

Eaton said the girls handled that defeat well and that pitcher Olivia Feldman told her teammates to embrace their extra time on TV. They made the most of it, delivering three straight shutouts in elimination games to reach the championship game.

Massapequa had notable crowd support the entire week, and the bleachers behind the first-base dugout were packed with loud supporters for Friday’s championship game.

“The Massapequa community is just enormous,” assistant coach Dom Fontana said. “The community rallies around everybody . . . Any time there’s a baseball team or a softball team playing, there’s always a buzz. We really appreciate how much energy and how much support we get from Massapequa.”

Fontana said his wife, Stephanie, held a watch party with the members of last year’s World Series team for Thursday night’s elimination game against Brunswick (Maryland). They planned to have another watch party for the championship game, but Stephanie said, “It’s not good enough. The kids have to be there.”

“All 10 of them were there just to show their support,” Dom Fontana said. “If it helped our team relax a little or energize them a little, they felt that’s what they had to do. That’s how it is and that’s how it’s going to continue moving forward. This group is gonna do the same for next year and so on. That’s just the way Massapequa does things.”

Massapequa won a third consecutive state championship this season and reached the Mid-Atlantic Region championship game for the second straight year.

“Massapequa, I hope you’ve enjoyed this ride,” Eaton said. “Three years at the regionals and a Little League World Series. It’s been a lot of fun to watch. I’m jealous of you guys that got to watch it on TV.”