Two months to glory for South WIndsor U-10 Little League All-Stars

Aug. 28—Seth Falco was the manager of the South Windsor U-10 Little League All-Star team for 59 days this summer.

But those 59 days were filled with enough memories to last a lifetime.

"I look back on Day 1 and see what all these kids did," Falco said. "Seeing how much better they got from Day 1 to Day 59 and their development. I'm so proud of them."

On a journey from South Windsor to Cranston, Rhode Island, Falco saw his 13 players win District 8, Section 4, state, New England, and Eastern Region championships.

He saw them become the first U-10 team in town history to win a state title, the first South Windsor team to win a New England title since the U-13 team did in 1988, and the first Connecticut team to win the Eastern Region tournament since 2011.

"It's history," Falco said. "It means, I've got to say it the was a ride of a lifetime. And to do it with my son too, I'm speechless. I didn't know it was all that. It's amazing."

Falco took over a team coming off a trip to the 2021 state final four tournament.

"When you take over a team with four returning, you're kind of like can you repeat that?" Falco said. "And goodness gracious, the kids answered."

Falco always knew there was something special about this group of players. He recalled telling his fellow coaches during a town Double A game in 2019 that he "needed to coach this team."

"I emailed our (league) president Al Maximino," Falco added. "I said 'Al, if I could ever manage a team, it needs to be (his son) Corbyn's 10-U year. I need to have Weston (Durbois), and this, this and that. I need to coach them because they're very special.' I saw that in Double A."

While he saw the potential in his team, Falco knew that a run back to the state tournament wouldn't be easy.

When asked what his goals were when the season began, Falco chuckled and said: "Districts. I don't look past anything."

South Windsor cruised through pool play in the District 8 tournament, outscoring opponents Ellington, Vernon/Rockville and Enfield a combined 38-7 in three games.

It topped Somers 13-0 in the semifinals July 7 before blanking Windsor Locks 6-0 four days later to win the District 8 title.

"I think our district out of many others is very strong," Falco said. "Every town that you see in District 8 has always been good. ... So, it absolutely set the tone. We knew getting out of districts was going to be hard."

The team then made its way to Putnam for the three-team, round-robin Section 4 tournament, and the roll continued.

South Windsor topped both SFC (Sprague/Franklin/Canterbury) and Mansfield/Ashford via the 10-run mercy rule to advance to the title game.

"That was an awesome memory," Jayden Matos said of the Mansfield/Ashford game, where he had two RBIs and two stellar defensive plays. "I'll never forget it."

South Windsor played Mansfield/Ashford again in the Section 4 title game July 22, this time earning an 18-6 mercy-rule win.

"That was a continuation of our momentum," Falco said of the tournament. "Putting kids in the right positions to succeed, getting everybody the experience they need. That was really it."

South Windsor topped East Lyme 8-3 to open the state final four tournament July 27 in Fairfield. It's next game the following day was perhaps the most pivotal of the summer.

South Windsor trailed 9-5 after two innings against Hamden in the winner's bracket championship game. It would cut the deficit to two heading into the sixth.

"I remember my son and Weston Durbois went into the dugout in the sixth inning and were like 'we got this,'" Falco said. "I mean their attitude was way different than me, Matt (Durbois) and Joe (Caputa). We were like 'dude, are we really going to lose this game?' And these kids were like 'No way man. We've got this coach.' It was amazing where they just never changed their attitude."

With the help of doubles by Falco and Durbois, along with RBIs from Zack Powers and Wesley Prather, South Windsor scored three times in the inning to take a 10-9 lead.

Reliever Jacob Zande slammed the door on Hamden in the bottom of the frame to put South Windsor in the state title game.

"It was huge," manager Falco said. "I think that was the point where I realized they're that damn good."

Hamden won its next game to set up a rematch for the state title July 30. South Windsor won 7-0 to punch its ticket to the Eastern Region tournament in Cranston.

The Eastern Region tournament is put on by Cranston Western Little League for the state champions across the region in order to mimic the U-12 regional tournaments held in Bristol that teams compete in to earn a berth in the Little League World Series.

South Windsor opened round-robin play in the New England pool with wins over Braintree American (Massachusetts), Cranston Western (Rhode Island) and Essex Town (Vermont) to clinch a berth in the New England title game with one pool game to go.

"It means a lot because you are playing the best of the best now," Falco said. "You're competing with the guys that won their districts, their sectionals, their states."

The team hit its first — and only — stumbling block of the summer in its final pool game Aug. 11 when its comeback bid fell short in a 6-5 loss to Portland (Maine).

"We had certain kids in different positions that they didn't do in practice," Falco said. "We just wanted to save pitching. So, was it a big loss for the kids? Yeah, in a way. They really wanted the undefeated season. But the bigger picture at the end when we talked to them was if we wanted to go out for that win, I think we had that win. It's just that we had to do what was right for the next two days."

Saving pitching proved to be critical.

Powers pitched five shutout innings as South Windsor topped Braintree American 1-0 in the New England championship game Aug. 12. He also drove in the lone run.

Luck proved to be on South Windsor's side as well that night as Braintree American seemingly scored the tying run in the top of the sixth. But the runner was called out after it was ruled that manager/third-base coach Rick Donovan had made contact with him.

"I mean it's kind of ironic," Falco said. "Our coach Matt went through that situation last year in states where at the end of the game on a walk, he touched a kid before they crossed first base. We ended up losing that game in states last year against East Lyme. As a coach at third base, I feel bad for him because it is as animated as it gets. Like you get so involved there, it's not even funny."

Reliever Durbois struck out the next batter to secure the win and give South Windsor a date with Mid-Atlantic champ Abington (Pennsylvania) the following morning.

Lyle Dresser tossed a complete-game shutout en route to being named tournament MVP as South Windsor clinched the Eastern Region title with a 3-0 win.

When asked if there was a particular game or moment that resonated with him from the summer, Falco said the final play of the Eastern Region title game.

Dresser fielded a grounder from the mound, fired to shortstop Dominic Caputa for the force out at second, and he sent the ball to an outstretched Durbois at first for the game-ending double play.

"That play will stand out for me," Falco said. "That was what we worked on. Dom holding the bag, throwing a laser across the field. I loved it."

As he introduced his players and assistants during the championship ring ceremony, Falco couldn't hold back the tears of joy any longer.

"The emotion ran over me. I saw Matt and I was like 'Wow, this is everything we dreamed of three years ago,'" Falco said. "We knew we were going to do this. To me, it was amazing to see and to be there, especially with my son ... It's just an emotional ride."

Falco said he intends to stick with the group as they move through the U-11 and U-12 levels of play. He added that of the 13 players on the roster, 10 are moving up to the U-11 age group.

"We're really excited," Zande said. "We're going to kick some butt."

At the same time, Falco will never forget the support of his players, assistants, and the community as a whole — including raising $14,545 via a GoFundMe to help offset the cost of families staying in Cranston for a week — during those 59 days in 2022.

"They gave up summers, some of them missed trips," Falco said. "Joe Caputa had to cancel Disney. Matt Durbois didn't join his family in Virginia, he and Weston stayed home. They missed their vacation. Other people canceled some weekend trips that they had planned. When you look and you think about where you're at at that point, that's 59 days of people giving me their life of just doing this.

"So winning, is it about the wins and loses? Not always. It's about the development at the end. These kids are better. But I mean they earned every bit of those banners and rings. I'm so proud of them. I still can't get over the fact of what it's been like. It's been an amazing ride."

For coverage of UConn football and men's basketball as well as area high school and local youth sports, follow Adam Betz on Twitter: @AdBetz1, Facebook: Adam Betz — Sports Writer, and Instagram: @AdBetzJI.