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Southington 12U All-Stars Reach New Heights In Tournament Run

  • Dan Fappiano
  • Aug 19
  • 7 min read

Updated: Aug 20

The Southington 12U All-Star Team						MATT PRESTON PHOTOS
The Southington 12U All-Star Team MATT PRESTON PHOTOS

The members of this year’s Southington 12U All-Stars team have played plenty of baseball together. From ground-ball drills to District titles, Southington’s squad had been through it all before entering the 2025 summer season. Still, one thing had evaded their grasp – the Sectional Championship title.

 

Five of the 12 members of this year’s team have been playing All-Stars together for the past three seasons. Another four have been on the squad the last two years. Outside of All-Stars, they have played against each other in little league and in travel leagues.

 

Head coach Matthew Preston, who was with the team last year for their 11U season, knew he was working with an experienced group. While Southington had big goals for this summer, everyone on the team was just as excited to be playing baseball together again.

 

“It’s just a big group of buddies and friends and now they feel like brothers,” Preston said. “They’ve played together for years. Some play at North, some play West, some play at South. But they all go to school together, they’ve played baseball together since they were little. Some of them play on the same travel teams too.”

 

The members of this year’s Southington 12U All-Star team are: Rowan Pelletier, Elijah D’Abramo, Cam Kenny, Chase Crespan, Austin Briseno, Andrew Maliga, Dillon Callahan, Carson DiNello, Mason Tarfano, Noah Preston, Logan Hager and Davin O’Shea. Preston was joined by assistant coaches Daron Callahan and Adam Tarfano.

 

Southington Continues District Dominance

 

The members of this year’s Southington team had won the District title at the 10U and 11U level in the two previous summers. As pool play began, the team got off to a 3-2 start. Both of their losses were by one run, including a 10-9 loss to Bristol in which all of their opponents' runs came in one inning.

 

Preston knew the team had to tighten up on defense. They worked on their bunt coverage and how to handle a rundown. He knew that if Southington closed the gaps in their defense, they’d come out a much stronger team.

 

“We did pretty well,” Preston said. “We lost a couple of games by one run, but those were learning moments for the team to figure things out, to find the areas we needed to work on. Sometimes you have to face some adversity early on to be successful in the long run.”

 

Southington got their chance at pay-back when they took on Bristol in the District 5 Championship. With all the games taking place in town, Preston and the coaching staff were able to lead practice at the field where the team was scheduled to play. Southington entered the game confident, and continued their District dominance by coming away with a 6-1 victory.

 

“We’ve been here,” Preston said. “We just have to give it our best. We always ask the team to give their best effort. The results will come out on the field. We were fully prepared, we practiced on the right fields. We came into it with confidence and they performed.”

 

District 5 Semifinals Home Run Celebration
District 5 Semifinals Home Run Celebration
District 5 Champions
District 5 Champions

Southington had grabbed the District crown. The 12U All-Stars now set their sights on yet another trophy: taking home the Section 2 title.

 

“They want to finish the job,” Preston said. “They started it a couple years ago and had success there. They were ready for it, played our style of baseball, and had a great game.”


Sectional Dreams Come True

 

Playing in Section 2, Southington competed against the winners of District 5, 3 and 6. Everyone in the section plays two games, with the top two teams advancing to the championship. Southington had made the finals a year prior, but under peculiar circumstances. If all teams are 1-1 after round-robin play, the tiebreaker is number of runs-allowed. In 2024 Southington advanced to the Section 2 championship despite losing their previous game.

 

In 2025, by contrast, the 12U All-Star squad took down Simsbury and Waterbury, 6-3 and 7-1 respectively. Preston said the team had a new level of confidence and knew they could compete with anyone.

 

“Sometimes you feel an unease as a baseball player and sometimes you just feel confident,” Preston said. “They had confidence going into this game, whereas last year we got in based on runs allowed. This year we had a confidence about us, and we played that way.”

 

Despite their growth, the 12U squad found themselves trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the third in the championship against Waterbury at Memorial Field. But with RBIs from Davin O’Shea and Carson DiNello, Southington bounced back to take a 3-1 lead. While Waterbury would tack on another run, the 12U All-Stars held on to take a 5-2 victory and win the Section 2 Championship.

 

“We’ve taken a fighter’s mentality, where just because someone throws a blow doesn’t mean you go down. You fight back, you punch back,” Preston said. “They never lost their confidence, they knew that they were going to put up runs. We were able to capitalize on a couple of mistakes and put some runs on the board early.”

 

Alongside their work at the dish, Dinello and O’Shea played key roles on the mound. Dinello got the start and went five innings, striking out nine while allowing just four hits and two runs. O’Shea got the save, pitching a scoreless last frame.


Section 2 Champions
Section 2 Champions

Southington Enters The State Tournament


By winning Sectionals, Southington became one of the last four teams in Connecticut to advance to the State Tournament. Preston reminded his team to strive for excellence, but understand that the game of baseball comes with its ebbs and flows. He wanted them to continue picking each other up and striving for greatness. If Southington continued playing for one another, no one in Connecticut could doubt their strength as a team.

 

“Just keep playing our game,” Preston said. “We’re a solid team and we’re playing great baseball right now. We’ve just got to keep the ball rolling. We have great pitching, we’ve been playing great defense, our hitting is there. I’d put these 12 kids up against anyone.”

 

Their first game at States came against Fairfield National. Preston and the team understood how talented they were and knew they were in for a true battle. Still, it was a fight they embraced.

 

The game was tied at one entering the fourth inning with DiNello having another strong performance on the mound. However, Fairfield National would score two in the fourth and another three in the sixth, taking Southington down 6-1. Preston said the 12U team fought hard and went toe-to-toe with them the entire game. But untimely hitting woes from Southington coupled with standout defensive plays from Fairfield National led to the loss.

 

Nevertheless, the 12U All-Stars had an opportunity to bounce back in their next match against Tolland. It was a full-circle moment for Southington: before they began All-Star play, they had scrimmaged against their future opponents.

 

The All-Stars got out to a 1-0 lead, but then their bats went cold. After another back-and-forth game, Southington managed to score a run in the bottom of the sixth and tie things at two before entering extra innings. Under California rules, an automatic runner starts at second base in extra innings. At the start of the seventh, Tolland managed to get that runner across the plate.

 

But Southington didn’t shut down. Instead, Preston said, they gathered their focus, which led to them scoring their own run to end the seventh. Once the 12U All-Stars held Tolland scoreless in the top of the eighth, Preston felt the energy start to shift. The kids were beaming in the dugout and ready to earn a victory.

 

With a hit from Rowan Peletier, Southington did just that. The 12U squad earned a 4-3 victory, clinching a win in the State Tournament they won’t soon forget.

 

“They’ve been battlers the whole time,” Preston said. “They know how to fight. We’ve worked on mental toughness and not letting one thing define your game. We’ve had big comebacks, big innings. They’ve made mistakes, it’s just about learning how to deal with them and not get overly emotional about them. Know you have the ability to come back and do the same thing in the next half-inning.”


Walkoff hit in 8th inning against Tolland
Walkoff hit in 8th inning against Tolland

With the game going into extras, Southington was forced to dip deep into their pitching resources. Still, Austin Briseno, who was called upon for the team’s third State Tournament game against East Lyme/Salem, took to the mound and kept the game knotted at two through the fifth inning.

 

But then East Lyme/Salem’s bats came alive. Putting up eight runs in the last two innings, they took down Southington 13-4.

 

Despite the loss, Preston saw this year’s 12U All-Star team battle until the very end. Their summer season had now come to a close, but there were plenty of reasons for Southington to be proud.

 

“After the game I just told the kids to hold their heads high,” Preston said. “They have a lot to be proud of. Southington hasn’t made it this far in 10 years or so. This is the furthest this group has made it collectively. They made their town proud. We play for the front of the jersey, not the back.”


12U All-Stars Leave A Lasting Impact


According to Preston, “baseball runs in Southington’s blood.” This year’s 12U All-Stars run was just another example of the rich culture signified by the town name each player wears on his chest.  Southington had been successful and were able to advance a little bit further each year. But with greater confidence as they entered the 2025 campaign, the 12U All-Stars reached entirely new heights. 

 

“Having been there before, they don’t get as rattled or emotional,” Preston said. “Having played against some of the best in the state, they just felt confident about themselves. They ended up being top three in the state, which is an immense accomplishment for any kid.”

 

Southington’s run in the State Tournament won’t be forgotten anytime soon. The hurdles each player and coach had to surmount to hoist the Section 2 trophy are unmistakable. But even outside the diamond, this 12U All-Star team made some lasting memories.

 

The team went bowling together. They played mini golf and watched other teams play baseball. They spent ample time bonding, relishing the time they had together this season. Southington operated as more than just a team – the 12U All-Stars found a new baseball family.

 

“They’ll remember the big moments when they grow up. But most of all, they’re going to remember being with each other and hanging out,” Preston said. “We do more than just practice. We’re trying to do things that create great memories and experiences for these kids that they’ll remember the rest of their lives.”

 

Section 2 Championship Game Postgame Huddle
Section 2 Championship Game Postgame Huddle

 

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