Bristol Girls 10U All-Star Team clinches Connecticut State Championship with grit and determination

Bristol 10U State Champions Front row, Left to Right - Makinnley Whitlock, Caroline Motel. Middle row - Ava Wijdan, Lucy Kalat, Lucy Bastiaanse, Ava Lefurgey, Maddy Yopp, Maci Duchemin, Ellie Tiscia, Dakota Green, Keeva Knowles. Back row - team mascot "Rumble", and coach Anthony Lefurgey, Kevin Kalat and Mike Bastiaanse)

Posted By: Jack Krampitz July 30, 2024

GRANBY – In its toughest moment, the Bristol girls 10U All-Star team shined its brightest.

The girls, who rolled through the District 5 and Section 2 Tournaments, suffered their first loss as a group on Tuesday in the second round of the Connecticut State Tournament to East Lyme. Bristol then faced the daunting task of having to fight its way through the loser’s bracket with no margin for error in the double-elimination competition.

Step 1 was a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Milford on Wednesday, highlighted offensively by Makinnley Whitlock’s two-run single. Bristol kept its season alive with three tremendous plays defensively in the bottom of the sixth after Milford put runners on second and third with no outs. Lucy Kalat caught two shots into center field, and Maddy Yopp recovered a wild pitch and threw the runner out at home to clinch the win.

Next up, Bristol faced the challenge of having to beat East Lyme twice to secure the state championship. In another close battle, Bristol held on, winning 5-4 on Thursday. Yopp crushed a three-run triple to center, and Mary Thompson lined a two-run double to right to provide the offense, setting the stage of Friday’s winner-take-all state title bout.

Pitching her fifth game in five days, Ava Lefurgey kept East Lyme at bay before Bristol was able to break through in the third. 

Ellie Tiscia led off with a single to left, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Ava Wijdan’s hard hit to left-center, giving Bristol a 1-0 lead.

After a scoreless fourth, Bristol rallied for much-needed insurance runs in the fifth. Keeva Knowles and Kalat singled, and Yopp walked. Tiscia and Thompson then walked with the bases loaded for two runs and Dakota Green knocked in a run on a hard grounder, giving Bristol a 4-0 lead.

East Lyme scratched across a run in the sixth, but that was it. Lefurgey, who allowed no hits, struck out her seventh batter of the game for the final out, securing a 4-1 Bristol triumph and the Connecticut state championship.

Forty-two teams across the state participated in this event. Bristol was the last one standing.

“This moment is unbelievable,” Bristol manager Anthony Lefurgey said. “These girls played their hearts out the last three weeks. They battled from the loser’s bracket, working their way back up to get these last three wins to win the state championship. Truly amazing.”

“By winning this state championship here in Connecticut, the kids automatically took themselves as far as you could possibly go in the Little League Tournament,” added Bristol Girls Little League President Adam Whitlock. “You can’t go any further. So, mission accomplished. They met their goal.”

Ava Lefurgey, in five games, struck out 48 hitters and allowed only 12 runs. She also had five hits at the plate throughout the week.

“I am super proud of her” Anthony Lefurgey said. “She really wanted this. She was tired, but she stayed strong and dug deep.”

Bristol had strong defense behind Lefurgey in the championship game. Knowles (first base), Thompson (second base), Lucy Bastiaanse (shortstop), Caroline Motel (third base) and Maci Duchemin (left field) all contributed critical plays in the field in helping contribute to the win.

“Our defense was huge,” Anthony Lefurgey said. “They came up with some really big plays. It was a 100 percent team effort. I’m very proud of this team.”

Bristol now moves on to the Eastern Regionals on Staten Island. The tournament will begin at Snug Harbor Little League on Wednesday.

“We are going to have a blast out there,” said Lefurgey, who coaches with Kevin Kalat and Mike Bastiaanse. “These girls are going to party all week and have fun on that field.”

This was Bristol Girls Little League Softball’s third state title captured this season. Its Junior and Senior All-Star teams also finished atop Connecticut.

“Three teams, three state champions is a real accomplishment for the city of Bristol” Whitlock said. “It’s everyone’s hard work in the winter. It’s their family’s support to drive them up and down the state. The kids absolutely earned all of their success.”

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