By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
Anthony Manto was back home watching the Little League Baseball World Series when he heard the announcers talk about the Japanese team practicing eight hours per day.
”It made me laugh,” said the Robbinsville 12-year-old softball all-star team manager, “but gave me a little perspective. We put in a lot of time.”
All the hours that the Robbinsville softball contingent put in paid off with a third-place finish in the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Ore., last Wednesday. Robbinsville defeated the Puerto Rico representative, ASOFEM Little League, 7-1, to close their summer on a high note.
”I think it does a few things for them,” Manto said. “It validates all the hard work they do. It’s so much hard work. Secondly, it fortifies the tradition. The Robbinsville girls and Robbinsville High School softball team have high standards, from 2008 (in the World Series) and from the high school girls. It makes them want to strive to be as good as those girls and as good as those teams were.”
Robbinsville was every bit as good as anyone in the world. They fell in extra innings to the eventual world champion from Arizona in their Pool B finale to finish second in their pool. They lost the World Series semifinal, 6-3, to then unbeaten McLean, Va., last Tuesday but came back less than 24 hours later to stop Puerto Rico.
”It was the cherry on top, to finish like that and come out on top,” Manto said. “We lost two games in a row. When you only lose three games all year, that can be a tough pill to swallow. We asked what they wanted to do and everyone said, ‘We want to finish as high as we can.’ It’s really a testament to them, they never gave up and never got down on themselves. They were the better team and they showed it.”
Robbinsville was right there with McLean in their semifinal. McLean scored five runs in the second inning, but Robbinsville would give themselves a chance with a run in the second inning and a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Sara Toscano grounded home Alexa Petito in the second after Petito tripled. Toscano doubled in one run, and an error generated another run in the fourth inning. Robbinsville also had a chance to overtake McLean in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and two outs, but McLean got out of it unscathed.
”We did have some chances,” Manto said. “I thought the Southeast — Virginia — played a really good game. A couple plays here or there and the outcome could have changed a little bit. I describe it as a little unsatisfied, but not disappointed whatsoever.
”When we started this whole thing my whole goal was to get Chelsea and Sara Toscano four straight state titles (as 10-year-olds and 12-year-olds). Then from there, we wanted to try to win the regionals and going to the World Series was icing on the cake. Coming in third was a great honor and a great experience.”
Robbinsville didn’t wait long to jump on Puerto Rico. Chelsea Manto singled to start their first inning, Shea Walsh reached on an error and Olivia Moser loaded the bases on a ball hit to second base. Manto scored when Alexa Petito reached on error, and Walsh scored on a fielder’s choice RBI from Toscano to make it 2-0.
The Robbinsville crew scored another five runs in the second inning. Walsh singled home a run, Emily Rubino helped to score another, Petito doubled in one run and Cameron Bruker singled home a run to give Petito plenty of cushion. Petito fired a two-hitter while striking out five for the bronze medal.
”I think the kids took it really well,” the elder Manto said. “They were disappointed not winning the semifinal game, but they took it really well. After the game, they were a little disappointed, a couple tears, not many, but they got ready and wanted to end the season on a good note. They came in third. I’m extremely proud of the kids, the families, the league and the community.”
Manto had seen his older daughter, Gabby, go through the same thrills in 2010 when Robbinsville placed fifth. In 2008, Robbinsville finished second.
”I think it was similar,” Manto said. “I definitely think being there before helped a little bit.”
The experience was one that he knows will serve them well in their future softball careers. They will remember all of the unique chances that they earned, and the thrills that they brought others.
”The participation in the Challenger game, I thought that was a tremendous experience,” Manto said of Robbinsville’s team serving as helpers in the game for special-needs children in Oregon. “I thought our girls along with the other teams did a tremendous job. To see the joy on those kids’ faces getting to play a game out there was an unbelievable experience.
”I thought the Little League and the people who organized the Series, did an outstanding job and they’re probably some of the most unsung heroes throughout the whole process,” he added. “That includes the district and regional people who put all this time in and get no recognition. It is a huge undertaking to put something on like this.”
It is also a huge undertaking to get to the World Series. Robbinsville put in the efforts to ensure that it would reach the pinnacle of the Little League softball world.
”We work really hard in practice,” Manto said. “Our reward is to get to play games. We try to hold on to that every day.”
This year was the third time that Robbinsville has played in a softball World Series. Each summer begins with lofty expectations, and this year’s group exceeded everything they could have imagined.
”It is a lot of pressure,” Manto said. “First off, the girls should be celebrated and congratulated. They do all the hard work. They know there’s pressure on them. They know that people expect them to win, or expect them to go far, but as a team, we try to work hard and play hard every game.
”We say if we give it our best effort, then we can hold our heads high and say we did our best. The outcome does not dictate the results just because we made it to the World Series and came in third. But if we didn’t go to the World Series and didn’t finish third, if we practiced hard and played hard, that’s the lesson we need for later in life.”
Their softball lives take only a little break. Some will play soccer, some will resume softball with fall ball. Eight players from this year’s team will still be eligible to play on next year’s 12-year-old all-star team, and they will try to duplicate the same commitment and cohesion that made this year’s team so successful.
”I thought this team really, really stuck together, the kids stuck together and the families stuck together,” Manto said. “That made it even more special.”
