Bonny Eagle’s Little League softball team won its second straight state championship last week, coming out of the losers’ bracket to earn a trip to the New England Regional in Bristol, Conn. Photo by Chelsea Regan
STANDISH — The players on the Bonny Eagle 12U Little League softball team take the field each game with green ribbons on their shoes or their gloves. The coaches wear them, too.
The message is “Go Green.” Or, in other words, be fearless.
“It’s about going out and knowing it’s OK if they make a mistake, they can bounce back from it,” Coach EJ Regan said. “It’s something we refer to, we don’t lean on it too much. But overall, this team goes into games, they’re aggressive. They’ve made mistakes, but every kid has bounced back from those mistakes.”
The approach helped Bonny Eagle win the state championship and earn a trip to the New England Regional in Bristol, Connecticut, where the Scots will play for a spot in the Little League World Series in Greenville, North Carolina. Bonny Eagle’s 10U team also won a state title and will play in the regional tournament in Pennsylvania.
Bonny Eagle’s 12U team defeated Medomak twice in the championship round in Brewer on July 12. The Maine champs will open the New England Regional against Vermont at 4 p.m. Sunday on ESPN Plus.
“We just feel so, so lucky,” Regan said. “After having seen it last year, I think our team can compete. There are some great teams down there, but we’ve got to remember that the other teams are also 11- and 12-year-old teams as well.”
It’ll be Bonny Eagle’s second straight trip to the regional. First baseman Lydia Weeks, pitcher Lily Regan and shortstop Nora Spires were on last year’s team, which won its first game before losing the next two.
“It feels really good,” Weeks said. “It’s really exciting to go back and re-experience it all, and make new memories.”
Bonny Eagle catcher Emily Ireland, left, discusses strategy with pitcher Lily Regan. Photo by Carla Peters
Regan is the lone starter back from last year. She moved from right field to pitcher and has teamed up with new catcher Emily Ireland to give Bonny Eagle a solid foundation.
“I’m really happy and proud of this whole entire team, because I didn’t know how we were going to do from the start,” Lily Regan said. “Our first practice was like ‘Oh, OK. Everyone looks OK.’ But I feel like everyone’s improved so much.”
EJ Regan knew that a return to the regional was no guarantee.
“As the (state) tournament started, we were a bit of an unknown,” he said. “Now people know our kids’ names because of the way they’ve performed.”
After winning its district title, Bonny Eagle lost to Medomak in the state tournament. But Bonny Eagle stayed alive in the double-elimination tournament and got a chance for redemption two days later, beating Medomak in back-to-back games, 3-2 and 4-2.
Ireland said there was an attitude shift for the rematch.
“The game we lost, we weren’t playing our best,” she said. “(It was) energy, picking people up.”
Now Bonny Eagle hopes that momentum carries into the regionals, against better competition on a bigger stage.
“I’m pretty confident. I feel like we have a really good chance,” Lily Regan said. “I think everyone has to stay confident, strong, and not get down on each other when we make a mistake.”
That’s what the “Go Green” message is about. The team hasn’t lost sight of that motto all season.
“It was a goal (to return to regionals), it was a really big goal,” shortstop Nora Spires said. “We’ve got to be confident, just play with confidence, and we’ll be fine.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
