To the editor:

The Tiverton Junior 13-year-old All-Stars took family and friends on an incredible thrill ride as they reached the State Finals in Johnston this past week. I wanted to write in and say a few words about our amazing team. 

After Tiverton steam-rolled through the district All-Stars bracket without a single loss, it was time to move on to the state bracket facing the top teams in the state including teams such as Cumberland, Coventry/East Greenwich, and Johnston.

Some of you may remember teams as Cumberland and Coventry as they had their share of air time in the Little League World Series in recent years. That all changed this year as the Tiverton All-Stars made themselves known among those other towns in the state.

Tiverton faced East Greenwich in the 1st round of the state bracket. They suffered a tough loss in game one of the double elimination bracket but never got down. They came back the following day to play a very tough Cumberland team. Tiverton went on to defeat Cumberland 7-4 and eliminate them from the bracket as they also were beaten in their first game.

After only a couple of days rest they had to face Coventry/East Greenwich again for a chance to move on or go home in an elimination game for both teams. The Tiverton players did not dwell on their 11-4 loss in game one against East Greenwich. They came out and showed us all what they are made of and battled back in the late innings after being down 4-1. Tiverton won by a final score of 6-4 and eliminated yet another team from the bracket and launched themselves into the state finals. 

Without any rest or time to recover Tiverton had to face an undefeated Johnston team the very next day in the state finals. Tiverton was in a tough situation after exhausting their top pitchers just days before and playing in very hot temperatures. They put out a great effort but were unable to overcome a well-rested Johnston team that had not played in nearly a week and had all of their pitchers ready to go. With all that being said it was an amazing season and the Tiverton players and coaches gave us all a thrill and plenty to cheer about.

This group of boys have been playing together as a team since they were 9 years old. It has been a long road but watching our boys grow and mature not only as players, but as the fine young men they have all become has been nothing short of incredible. We are all so proud of our boys and their achievements over the past 5-6 years.

It seems like yesterday that we cheered as our kids were hitting a ball off of a tee. Years ago we were learning the names of the boys that were playing on the team and being introduced to other parents who were complete strangers. I think I speak for all of the parents when I now say those strangers have turned into life-long friends and it is all because the game of baseball brought us together.

Some of our boys are now making their way into high school this September and have finished their days of Little League/Juniors baseball.  We will miss these days but we are also very grateful to have met so many fantastic boys, parents, grandparents and siblings through being part of the Tiverton Little League.

Lastly, this letter would not be complete without me mentioning the coaches who have given of their time over the past eight-plus years. Thank you very much Paul Nasiff, Chad Mercer, John Zeller, Ron Potvin and "Coach Dave". You have all been instrumental in helping to develop our boys into "ballplayers.”  Paul and Chad have put in endless hours, days, weeks and years of coaching and teaching our boys how to play the game the right way. They have taught them sportsmanship and how to be a team player and have the right attitude both on and off the field. 

Tiverton is lucky to have coaches who care about the boys and also love the game of baseball. These coaches have also put in endless hours of field preparation etc. There would not be a Tiverton Little League without men like this and their spouses. We are forever grateful and want to personally say "thank you" to Paul, Chad and all involved in our son’s baseball development.  It has been an amazing ride. Way to go boys!

Jason and Lori Panell

Tiverton