Wallingford-Yalesville Making Special Run Through Little League Playoffs
WALLINGFORD, CT — The Wallingford-Yalesville 12U All-Star team is making a special run through the Little League postseason that is bringing both sides of town together.
The team, which is composed of players from both Wallingford and Yalesville Little Leagues, has gone 11-0 so far in the postseason, and recently won the District 5 and Section 2 championships.
Wallingford-Yalesville, which has adopted the moniker “492” to represent the town’s 06492 zip code, advanced to the state’s final four with a 5-0 win over Shelton in the Section 2 championship on Wednesday night. “492” will take on Stamford National on Tuesday, July 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Nike Site, 51 Mohegan Rd., in Shelton.
Find out what's happening in Wallingfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“To go 11-0 is special,” Wallingford-Yalesville manager Ed Eckert said. “These players, coaches, families will all remember this run for years to come. We’ve taken every step of this journey one game at a time. We don’t know what the future holds, and all the teams playing this deep in the tournament are really good. To be one of the final four teams left standing is special.
“Every team sets out to win their district. We knew it was going to be tough. District 5 is stacked. When we did so and headed to Sectionals, the games remained the same. Very difficult with extremely well-coached teams in Simsbury and Shelton. To make it out of sectionals 3-0 and now sit in the top four in the state is very special.”
Find out what's happening in Wallingfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Wallingford-Yalesville “492” team members are Brayden Antonelli, Rocky Deek, Drew Eckert, Jack Gootman, Ben Kroeber, Michael Mancino, Cullen Martin, Matthew Nelson, Max O’Brien, Brandon Quinn, Aiden Rodriguez, Troy Whalen, and Henry Whitehouse.
Eckert is assisted by coaches Jeff Gootman, Keith O’Brien, Mark Nelson, Joe Antonelli, and Brian Whalen.
“We have an extremely athletic bunch of kids,” Eckert said. “Their skills across multiple sports have helped them throughout this tournament. The games are intense. The practices are frequent. The weather has been brutal. The stress levels have been high. In the end, these boys have all been a part of meaningful games in many different sports and it’s paying off now.
“We’ve really tried to instill controlling what we can. Overcoming adversity. Playing for something more than personal stats.”
Eckert said the team has also received support from the community.
“We have a lot of people in our corner,” he said. “Both Wallingford and Yalesville Little Leagues have been extremely helpful. From field usage, leadership support, and even old and current players assisting at our practices. The Wallingford Cardinals have given us access to use their indoor facility, which has been huge with all the rain we’ve run into. Even Ultimate Sports in Meriden. We’ve connected with Coach Paul and John John who’ve assisted us with team level hitting.”
Eckert said coaching the team has also meant a lot to him personally.
“I’m very fortunate to be coaching this team,” he said. “And at the same time, coaching this team is really special to me personally. My brothers and I grew up playing baseball in Yalesville Little League. As a kid, it felt like I lived at Parker Farms from March until July every year. I understand the tradition and I respect everything that Yalesville has offered their community. At the same time, I’m raising two boys who have grown as players within Wallingford Little League since they were 4 years old. To coach a team combined of both sides of town is pretty special and something I don’t take for granted. That’s why we call ourselves 492.
“This isn’t a team of just one side of town or the other. And no better way to showcase this than using the town zip code as our nickname.”
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.