'Series'ly spectacular! Guilford Little League Softball All-Stars set to shine on world stage
- Rick Menning
- Jul 25
- 7 min read
By Rick Menning
BRISTOL, CT -- Their radiance will continue to shine on Little League Softball's biggest and brightest stage.
The Guilford, Connecticut Major Division All-Stars have achieved their ultimate dream of playing in the Little League Softball World Series with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Maine.
Along with the support from an incredible crowd that braved the 90-plus degree temperatures for the noon match-up, the girls in the green and white uniforms also brought their lucky rubber ducklings and their big baby doll to keep them company in the dugout (more on this later).
Winners of their district, sectional and state titles, this amazing team of conquering warriors won all four regional challenges and will now represent New England in Greenville, N.C. starting on Sunday, Aug. 3.
Guilford will wrap up the Sunday opening World Series action with a showdown against the Mid-Atlantic Region champion. First pitch is at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
The complete World Series schedule can be found here: 2025 Little League Softball® World Series Game Schedule - Little League
Pure emotions on display
The tears of joy and exhilaration extended far beyond the playing field at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Little League Leadership Training Center main field in Bristol.
From the thrills and excitement when the final pitch was thrown, to the euphoria among parents and friends in the bleachers, to the pride felt throughout New England, the scene was one to be remembered forever!
Here was a team of girls from a shoreline community on the banks of Long Island Sound making their league's first appearance in the New England Region tournament and winning it all in impressive fashion.
After completely dominating the opposition in their first three games, the Guilford girls had to survive a nailbiter in the championship showdown.
Pitching, defense are key
From the very first inning against New Hampshire, Guilford starting pitcher Maeve Eagleson was locked in and focused on success. And with her fielders coming through with one clutch play after another, her four-game stint inside the circle was a thing of beauty.
"Our defense was spectacular, and our pitching and catching was just phenomenal," said Guilford manager Andrea Klein during the press conference after the championship game. "This was truly an all-around team effort. It speaks volumes and makes the victory that much more special."
Even when the Maine batters did put the ball in play, second baseman Olivia Mahon and third baseman Leah Michalowski were right there to flash the leather with great putouts to first baseman Reagan Klein.
Olivia also snagged a soft liner, and Reagan had an unassisted putout at first to keep Maine at bay in the fourth inning.
Abundance of special Ks
Maeve Eagleson served up a complete game no-hit performance that included 10 strikeouts. She struck out the side in the sixth and final inning to ignite a wild celebration.
The New England champions pushed their only run across the plate with a big two-out rally in the second inning. Addy Pradith walked and subsequently flew around the bases when Michaela Mascari's infield hit became an adventure for Maine's defense.
Michaela came to bat knowing that Maine pitcher Jasmine Peters was good, and her thought process was to expect something in her sweet spot and make the most of it.
"I know she throws strikes, so I just thought to myself that I need to keep my head locked in and keep my eye on the ball," Michaela said. "I just believed in myself and did it."
Addy took advantage of the situation and flew around the basepaths. Her impactful journey culminated when she slid safely into home as the Connecticut crowd erupted. It turned out to be super clutch as Guilford held on for the win.
"I was just totally focused on making it home and getting that run for us," Addy said. "We knew it would be a close game and I'm just happy I was able to help my team."
Like the rest of her teammates, Addy is looking forward to getting down to North Carolina and facing the best teams in the world.
"We know we have to bring the intensity because we are going to be playing some really good teams," she said. "But we have an amazing team ourselves, so we just have to keep playing hard and believe in ourselves."
Here is a rundown on Guilford's other three games at regionals:
Game 3: Guilford 10, Vermont 0: In front of one of the largest crowds -- that completely filled the Connecticut bleachers -- in the history of the Little League Softball regionals in Bristol, the diamond dynamos from Guilford sizzled from the first pitch to the last out.
Winning pitcher Maeve Eagleson helped her own cause with an RBI triple, and Reagan Klein doubled during Guilford's six-run first inning that left little doubt as to the outcome.
Guilford added four runs in the second inning with the big blast being Leah Michalowski's bases-clearing double into the gap as she increased her game-high RBI total to four including her RBI grounder in the initial frame.
Maeve went the distance with a three-hit performance that included nine strikeouts and only one walk.
Seven of Guilford's first eight batters reached base in the mercy rule contest.
Game 2: Guilford 13, Massachusetts 2: The rubber ducklings that the Guilford girls collected from a claw machine at the Lyme Tavern Restaurant and Sports Bar in Niantic during the state tournament worked their magic -- again -- in yet another mercy rule four-inning conquest against their northern neighbors.
So did "Bobby", the big baby doll that Guilford also found at the restaurant and received permission to keep and add to its mascot display inside their dugout.
Guilford made the most of its opportunities, and put the exclamation point to the win with an eight-run fourth inning.
Leah Michalowski and Kali Reinhold tripled as part of two-hit efforts from that duo and also Reagan Klein and Blake Bizzario (pair of singles each).
Guilford's entire lineup came to the plate in a huge fourth inning highlighted by Leah's two-run single to right field and Blake's RBI hit to right/center.
Maeve Eagleson and Leah were again a force inside the circle. Maeve struck out six in her three innings, while Leah came on in relief and struck out the side.
Kali not only produced with her bat, but also her arm as she threw out a Massachusetts runner trying to steal second base in the second inning.
Guilford stormed out to a 3-0 advantage with Leah's RBI three-bagger to left/center field, and subsequent run-scoring singles by Kali and Addy Pradith stirring the pot to a big win.
Game 1: Guilford 9, New Hampshire 0: With the home side bleachers nearly packed again with Connecticut fans, the Guilford All-Stars again rode the combined performance of Maeve Eagleson and Leah Michalowski inside the circle to a commanding victory.
The enthusiastic crowd of Guilford supports had plenty to cheer about as the district, section and state title holders blended lights-out pitching with clutch hitting in its fast start at regionals.
The Concord squad, meanwhile, could not figure out either Maeve or Leah as the arm corps totaled 16 strikeouts using an effective mix of pitches -- all while holding New Hampshire to an infield single. Guilford's outfielders had no work whatsoever as not a single ball came their way
At the plate, Guilford's shining moment occurred in the fifth inning when Leah clouted a two-run inside-the-park homerun -- a sizzler to the base of the fence -- to cap the team's offensive production. She also came through with an infield single during Connecticut's five-run fourth inning.
Olivia Mahon singled and later scored on Leah's sacrifice fly to left field to stake Guilford to a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
The home state warriors made it 2-0 in the third inning when Maeve McGowan walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, took third base on a fielder's choice and stole home in a great heads-up effort.
During Guilford's explosive fourth inning, five straight batters -- Maeve, Leah, Kali Reinhold, Reagan Klein and Addy Pradith -- all reached base and scored as Guilford benefitted from their opportunities with two singles and four walks that put the game out of reach. Kali's two-run rip to center field was the big shot in that frame.
With the exception of the infield single, Maeve gave up only two softly hit lineouts to herself and Leah while powering ahead with 10 strikeouts. Leah came into the circle in the fifth inning and allowed only one walk to go along with her six strikeouts.
Little League Softball
New England champions!
2025 Guilford Major Division All-Stars (in alphabetical order): Maya Barbarito, Blake Bizzario, Maeve Eagleson, Reagan Klein, Olivia Mahon, Michaela Mascari, Maeve McGowan, Leah Michalowski, Adelina Pradith, Kali Reinhold, Shannon Winters, Abby Volpe. The manager is Andrea Klein and the coaches are Mike Michalowski and Kyle Eagleson.
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