Eight little girls quietly — and quite adorably — made history May 31 when they became the first-ever Little League girls softball to take the field in Derby.
The all-girls Ansonia Ponytail Express played t‑ball softball Friday against the Derby Laurels, a co-ed t‑ball Little League baseball team.
The Ponytail Express were five-and-six year-old players.
We didn’t track the score, because, heck — it’s t‑ball.
Prior to the exhibition, Express received coaching tips from Derby High School softball captains Gabrielle Greenhill, Shyanne Garofalo and Shelby Mendillo — and high school softball coach Joe DiMartino.
“It’s good to see young kids go out and play. Everyone today wants to sit inside with video games,” Gabrielle said. “It’s good to see kids driven to do something.”
The Ponytail Express is coached by Derby’s Rob Hyder, with assistance from Ansonia’s Mike Bradshaw and Hyder’s wife, Tara.
While Derby has had recreation league softball and young girls have long had the option to play baseball, Hyder said Friday’s game was the first softball match officially sanctioned by the Little League in Derby.
How does he know?
He asked Derby’s Ken Marcucio, Sr., naturally.
“I asked Ken, he’s been Little League president for 40 years,” Hyder said with a laugh.
The Ponytail Express includes five players from Derby and three from Ansonia.
The Derby girls on the Ponytail Express are Bria Hayden, Emma Hyder, Jennay Jimenez, Mackenzie Kacprzyski and Hailey Muzzi.
The Ansonia girls are Amelia Bradshaw, Addyson Izzo and Alexis Strode.
The team plays in an Ansonia softball Little League, but there are only two teams (the Ponytail Express and the Sassy Breeze).
Hyder said the two teams have played each other some five teams so far this season, so Friday’s chance to play against the co-ed Laurels was much appreciated, not to mention a great learning experience for the aspiring softball players.
“The girls are having a great time and they’ve learned a lot,” Hyder said.
