To say it was a successful year is an understatement.
The Oxford Little League 12-year-old Cal Ripkin All-Stars are the 2010 Al Leonard Champions, the 2010 District 5 Champions, the 2010 State Champions and the 2010 Northeast Regional Champions, making it to the 2010 Little League World Series in North Carolina before finally being eliminated.
And this week town officials took time to congratulate the team and bask in its success.
“We can’t say congratulations enough,” said Selectman David Yish when the Board of Selectmen hosted the team for a reception during its meeting Wednesday.
“You did an awesome job and I’m sure you will carry this with you for the rest of your lives,” he told the team and its coaches.
The team won 22 games and lost only three during its summer season. It beat a team from eastern Mass. to advance to the regionals, where it topped a team from Harrison, Maine, to qualify for the World Series.
“I was hoping for the best all year,” said Owen Diaz, 13, an eighth-grader at Great Oak Middle School, “and once we got started we had a really good team.
“I was surprised how our hard work really paid off,” he said.
The kudos heaped on them Wednesday included two proclamations, one from First Selectman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers on behalf of the town and one from state Rep. David Labriola, who was there to offer congratulations from the state.
“It is such a pleasure to be able to bring the town together on an occasion like this to honor our young men,” Drayton-Rogers said.
Afterwards the boys were treated to cupcakes, cookies and punch as the selectmen mingled with the players, offering their congratulations.
“You did a fantastic job,” Selectman Dave McKane said.
