Vienna Little League Team Finishes Strong Season As Southeast Regional Runner-Up

VIENNA, VA — A Vienna Little League team had a strong season as district and state champions and just fell short of the southeast regional title as the runner-up.

This was the second year of success for the 9-11-year-old Vienna American All Star team, whose players were part of the 8-10 year-old Vienna American All Star team that went undefeated to win the Southeast Region Tournament of State Champions in 2023.

This year, the team was undefeated up until the final of the Southeast Region Tournament of State Champions against North Carolina's state champion team. They ended the season with a 35-1 record, which Manager and Coach Andy Dinn called "unprecedented for a VLL team in their first two years of competition."

"As I told the team after our last game, one loss doesn't define us. Rather these first two unprecedented summers do, along with what we still could achieve in the future," Dinn told Patch.

According to the coach, the team's strength is its depth. The team is made up of Thomas Bacher, Mo Franklin, Spencer Franklin, Wyatt Kaufman, Aaron Kressin, Jack Lancman, Vincent Mallare, Tripp Mathias, Graham McDermott, Adam Raines, Grant Rubin and Eli Schlichter. Dinn is the manager and a coach, along with coaches Jeff Benjamin and John Norman. The team's nickname is Code Red, which references the forest fires in summer 2023 that caused disruptions to the team's schedule.

Next year, Dinn said the team will be eligible as 12-year-olds to compete for a trip to the Little League World Series.

"As we look ahead to next year, we can use this lone setback as motivation to get better, stronger, and more mentally prepared to make a run at Little League's ultimate goal," said Dinn.