Fairfield Girls Softball Team Takes State Championship Again

FAIRFIELD, CT — Another championship season earmarked the work of some of the most talented softball players in the state.

The Fairfield Little League Softball Juniors took the Connecticut State Championship last month against a formidable squad from Bristol, winning 8-5. It was their second championship in three years.

“The final game was definitely a nail-biter,” said Matthew Colangelo, the team manager of this group of girls since they were 8 years old.

The team seemed to have a comfortable lead going into the fifth inning, up by a score of 7-1. Their opponent didn’t want to give up, however, and a girl named Desiree Nickerson hit first a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and then a solo homer in the seventh.

Fortunately, he said, though the girls had trounced Bristol earlier in the round-robin portion of the tournament, they were not overconfident and kept focus in that final game July 20.

“This group of girls is really special,” Colangelo said, having led them to a state championship in 2019 for the 11U division, and two District 2 championships, in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

“They worked and competed so hard since they were 8 years old and deserve to end their Little League careers as state champions,” he said, with the group heading up to high school next year.

Coach Edward Tournas, who works alongside Coach Randy Solow with Colangelo, had great praise for the team and its long-standing success.

“Having success each year makes it harder the following year because they have a target on their backs,” he said. “But the girls continue to respond and come out on top.”

“They should really be proud of the accomplishments they’ve made throughout the years,” Tournas said.

Parent Liane May, whose daughter Patty Greene was a center fielder on the team, spoke emphatically about the value of the experience for the girls.

“The friendships and solidarity with the other girls on the team is paramount, especially at this age,” she said. “During the pandemic, the structure of being on a team was especially positive reinforcement in learning how to work with others to achieve goals.”

May also noted how important it was to acknowledge the accomplishments of girls in sports, as they’re traditionally overlooked in favor of boys’ or men’s sports.

“It doesn’t just happen in the NCAA, or at the national level,” she said. “It happens at the local level as well. We need to change this.”

Colangelo said that Fairfield’s Little League Girls Softball group was the largest in the state, with over 350 girls participating in both spring and fall seasons.

“I believe softball was a real outlet and sense of normalcy for them,” he said.

Particularly over the past year, it, "allowed them to get both physical and mental relief while focusing on a sport and teammates they love,” he said.

Colangelo said softball was particularly great for young women, as it teaches them discipline, sportsmanship, and the value of teamwork.

“Championship teams are built through hard work, determination and teamwork,” he said, all of which his team evidenced.

Those participating in the championship season included Caroline Branscombe, Francesca Colangelo, Caitlin DeBernardis, Emily Dowd, Leah Encarnacion, Patty Greene, Emma Heitzman, Griffin Paladino, Gina Solow, Angie Tavella, Allie Tournas and Eva Vergara.