Go West, young women! Boardman’s 13-14 girls softball team is off to Kirkland, Wash.

By CHUCK HOUSTEAU

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

BOARDMAN — Not many athletes get to experience the quality of competition that the Boardman girls 13-14 softball team will face next week.

Boardman, the Junior League Ohio and Central Region champions, left this morning for Kirkland, Wash., for the 2007 Junior League Softball World Series.

Junior League is the age 13-14 branch of Little League.

In the Seattle suburb, Boardman will compete against the best teams in the world from Sunday through Aug. 18 in a10-team tournament.

The Boardman All-Star team captured a berth in World Series by defeating Indiana, 6-1, in Wednesday’s regional championship game at Akron’s Firestone Stadium.

Boardman, which is made up of players sponsored by Boardman Community Baseball, cruised through district, state and regional play with an impressive 11-0 record.

Squad feted Friday

The 13-player squad, managed by Rick Schafer, was treated to a community sendoff Friday at the Fields of Dreams Baseball Complex.

“This is terrific,” Schafer said following the brief ceremony to honor the team. “It’s all about the girls and I’m happy they are being recognized.”

The team was introduced to the crowd by Boardman Community baseball Vice President Larry Moliterno. BCB President Tim Kaple spoke briefly of the team’s accomplishments.

“These girls have brought so much pride to our community,” Kaple said. “They have amazed me from the start.

“Rick [Schafer] told me from the beginning that they are going to be special and they truly are,” Kaple said. “[Schafer] told me they were going to go somewhere and he meant it.”

Many of the girls on this year’s team have plenty of experience after playing on Boardman’s regional team last year.

“We knew we had a good nucleus coming back,” Schafer said. “We thought we had an opportunity to get back [to the regional] and we’re glad we took advantage of it.

“This is a very versatile group with a lot of depth in pitching,” Schafer said. “Every girl has to play in Little League baseball and we don’t have any problem playing any of our girls in any situation.”

Meenachan in record book

Brooke Meenachan, who pitched the first no-hitter in Central Regional history in the championship game, said the players couldn’t be more excited.

“I’m so happy for everyone on our team,” Meenachan said. “I think our defense and clutch hitting has been the key to our success.”

Alex DiDomenico, one of the team’s top hitters and pitchers, said that every player helps pick each other up.

“We never give up,” DiDomenico said. “We always stick together and stay together and if someone is down we will pick them up.”

Other team members are Julie Olbrych, Missy DeMarinis, Shayla DeCapita, Erin Schafer, Sarah Maxwell, Nicola Gabriele, Vanessa Becker, Danielle Petrus, Bethany Haddle, Julie Sokol and Alex DeFabio.

Schafer is assisted by Joe Gabriele and Joe DeCapita.

“I think playing in the World Series is something these girls will remember for the rest of their lives,” Schafer said. “Not very many teams get this opportunity and these girls will have memories to cherish forever.”

Audio broadcasts of all the tournament games in Washington can be heard on the internet at www.audiosportsonline.com.

A link to the Web site and all the team’s game times can be found on the Boardman Community Baseball Web site.