Reading 12U Little League Team To Begin State Tournament On Friday

READING, MA - Reading Little League will look for another milestone in an already historic summer season this weekend when its 12U team heads to Braintree to compete for a state championship.

Fresh off a sectional tournament win on Sunday, the team will open its state bracket with a game against Pittsfield on Friday at Braintree’s Hollingsworth Park. Reading will need three wins to claim a state title and punch a ticket to the Little League regional tournament in Bristol, Conn. next month.

“It's very exciting,” Reading coach Michael Wondolowski told Patch on Tuesday.

The 12U team has been one of three Reading programs dominating on the Little League diamond this summer.

The 10U, 11U and 12U teams all went undefeated on their way to district tournament wins earlier this month. The 11U and 12U teams then both claimed sectional titles to qualify for their state tournaments, where the 11U team saw its season come to an end against Hopkinton on Sunday.

A first for Reading Little League, these simultaneous tournament triumphs come in a community that Wondolowski said has “definitely stayed a strong baseball-oriented town.”

As his team looks to make history again, Wondolowski said the experience has been an intense one. He credited his players for their efforts on an increasingly prominent stage.

“I think the kids, so far, have really thrived,” he said.

“They've really brought that much more of a higher level of energy,” he added.

The state tournament operates as a double elimination bracket, eventually culminating with the state championship game on July 31.

“We're just having a lot of fun,” Wondolowski said of this summer season. “We hope that we can keep it going.”

Follow the state tournament schedule online.