The softball team from Massapequa won the Little League World Series, earning the first ever championship for a team from New York. News 4’s Pei-Sze Cheng reports.
The Little League Softball World Series champions were greeted with much fanfare as they landed at LaGuardia Airport to a water gun salute.
The Massapequa International softball team made history in Greenville, North Carolina by being the first New York State team to win it all.
“It was a lot of hard work and it paid off,” said team member Cassie Van Schuyler.
“There are a bunch of teams all around the world trying to get to that spot,” said teammate Mia Victor. "And we are from a town on Long Island and I didn’t think we could do it.”
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And win they did. The team won 19 straight games in the tournament and clinched the championship on Sunday afternoon against North Carolina.
This team was assembled in the beginning of the summer and many of the girls had never played together before, but the coaches said they knew this team was special from the start.
“Their hard work, their commitment and dedication,” said coach Dom Fontana. “It’s been an unbelievable ride and I don’t think we even still fully appreciate what we accomplished."
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These girls are the talk of the town. Friends have decorated their homes with lawn signs and congratulatory balloons. At New Wave Sports, where they already made state champion shirts, the owner is designing one for the World Series win.
“It’s so awesome, I’m so proud of them,” said Gina Scarola. “They worked really hard for this and it’s just amazing.”
“Just to know they got this far is simply phenomenal,“ said Danielle Kempner of Massapequa. “We couldn’t be prouder of them.”
With accolades and victory parades on the horizon, the girls are just trying to enjoy the ride and spend time with friends and family, something they couldn’t easily do while on their Little League World Series run.
“It makes us feel good and special that we get to be the first people to do this,” said player Alexis Fontana. “Everyone is just cheering us on and we have each other to thank for it.”
The town of Oyster Bay hosted a welcome back event at Brady Park for the girls on Monday and details of a victory parade will be announced shortly.
