WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A day after their elimination loss to Newtown, Pa., the Salem Little League All-Stars shared one final special day together.
Dressed in their brown “New England” uniforms, they sat in stadium seats for several hours, first watching Newtown win another game over Washington, and then later in the evening taking in the Detroit Tigers’ extra-innings, walk-off victory over the New York Yankees, held six miles away at the historic Bowman Stadium.
Before their final day together came to an official end, the players shared their favorite moments and memories from the Little League World Series with the Eagle-Tribune.
“It was amazing. We made it to the biggest place in the world for a 12-year-old (baseball team to play),” said Nolan Dupuis. “I was just excited to be here and enjoy the time with my friends.
“For some of us, this is our last time playing together. It’s sad because most of us have been playing together for three or four years, and now we’re going to be split apart.”
Their futures in athletics may lead the players down different paths, but the path from Jaffrey, N.H., to Bristol, Conn., to Williamsport will never change.
It was their path.
“We’ll have these friendships and memories for the rest of our lives,” said first baseman Jacob Guerrero-Lomba.
Guerrero-Lomba added that living in the bunks with his friends and telling jokes is one of the things he’ll always remember.
Brayden Miller spoke about the first time he walked up to the plate at Lamade Stadium and the fans chanted “It’s Miller Time.”
“It was just crazy,” Miller recalled. “I had to call a timeout because it was just too much, and I had to collect myself.”
Grayson Buckley noted how close the team came to pulling off a big comeback against Hawaii.
Jackson Lemire said he’ll always remember his hit in the Pennsylvania game as well as taking in the Tigers-Yankees game.
Zach Bolduc enjoyed meeting the players from Japan and Taiwan.
Owen Griffin mentioned the interviews he and his friends had with ESPN.
Both Patrick DeFrancesco and William Briggs said the journey meant more to them knowing that their fathers — manager Dan DeFrancesco and assistant coach Jim Briggs — lived out their childhood dreams with them.
“It was awesome to do this with my dad,” said William Briggs. “It’s something we’ll always have forever.”
Dan DeFrancesco said while his heart has a hole in it with Patrick “retiring” from baseball and going to soccer next year, sharing the big wins, the celebrations and the tough-luck losses are all moments that will never leave either of their hearts.
“It’ll be nice for me to take the coaching uniform off and just be a dad,” said Salem’s manager. “Being here with him is something that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.
“My dad was here. Both of Patrick’s grandfathers were here. His grandmother was here. So this is just something as a family that we will cherish forever.”
Twitter: @Jamie Pote