Seawolves win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

According to Wikipedia, a Sea Wolf (Anarhichas lupus), also known as the Atlantic wolffish, Atlantic catfish, wolf eel, or sea cat, is a marine fish, the largest of the family Anarhichadidae.


It's also the name of our Little League team - the Hanover Seawolves. We took the name from the minor league team, the Erie Seawolves. I say "our" Little League team since DH Hugh coaches it and DS Sam is a key player. What a season!!! We finished the season with a record of 21-2 and won two tournaments. We're the newly crowned winner of the Connecticut Valley Little League and we also won the Lebanon Three Pitch tournament in May.

What a championship game it was - a come behind victory in the next to last inning!

I love this picture! It was taken by a fellow Seawolves parent - Jim. It's at the start of the game with Hugh giving "high fives" to the team after introductions.


This is the team - note all the trophies! Each kid and coach on the team got their own trophies, we received a larger trophy for winning the Connecticut Valley Little League South championship, the large trophy is for winning the Connecticut Valley Little League championship.


We played the very tall Newberry Knights who were undefeated going into this game. As a reference, note two of their players standing next to Sam - amazing, no?!


And here's Hugh with his three "clutch" hitters - Ryan, Jamison, and David.


Coach Joe (anesthesiologist extraordinaire) gave out "awards" to all the kids after the game. Sam got the coveted "head hunter" award - as the pitcher who hit the most batters during the season! Joe said that Sam was the most feared pitcher in the CVLLS.


Here's Hugh's write-up of the game that appeared in the local newspaper:

In the peptalk before the game, Coach Hugh Mellert quoted the infamous Yogi Berra...."It ain't over til it's over" Yogi-ism.....telling the team that the season was not over until the Championship game was over.

Six Innings later.....The Hanover Seawolves won the Conn. Valley Little League Championship with a come from behind 7-5 victory over the undefeated Newbury (Vt.) Knights. The Knights jumped to an early lead with one run in the first inning, one run in the second inning, and a 2 run homer in the 3rd inning. It felt like it would be a Newbury runaway at that point in the game. But solid pitching by Hanover's ace, Joe Crevero (11 K's in the game) and flawless infield play (6 infield outs in the game), Hanover got the side in order in the 4th and 5th innings.

With the pressure on and the top of the Hanover order coming to bat in the 5th inning and the Newbury starting pitcher off the mound having used up his 85 pitchcount, the Seawolves mounted a 2 out comeback with patient at bats (6 walks in the game) and clutch hits (7 singles in the game - no extra base hits). All 9 batters came to the plate. With the bases loaded after a walk by Nate Choukas and Joe Cravero and a hard hit ground ball by the shortstop from Sam Mellert.....Ryan O'Rourke (#5 hitter) hit a rocket-shot down the line past the third baseman scoring 2 runs. Seawolves down now 4-3. The bases were loaded again  with a walk by Chris Washington and the Knights got the second out of the inning on a force play at home off of a slow grounder back to the pitcher by Chris  Mueller. Down to the final out of the inning and with the bases loaded and two strikes on the count, Jamison Jodoin (#8 batter) hit a fly that cleared the infield and dropped scoring 2 runs. Seawolves up 5-4. The Seawolves ninth batter, David White, came to the plate and with two outs and two strikes hit the ball over the second baseman's head to drive in 2 runs and ended the inning trying to stretch the single into a double. Seawolves up 7-4. Nine batters....six runs....4 of them with 2 outs!!! Clutch hits and smart base running!!!

In the sixth inning, Newbury scored one run on errors by the Seawolves but the first out came on a  groundout to the pitcher,a popup hit high in the air over the head of shortstop Sam Mellert, who ran back and leaped into the air only to have the ball be 2 inches past his glove....out of leftfield came a charging Jamison Jodoin who snagged the ball for the second out as Sam Mellert rolled to the ground.....a Top Ten Play in anyone's book. Joe Cravero struck out the last batter on 6 pitches ending the game with 84 of his 85 pitchcount used up.

Coach Hugh Mellert got a Gatorade Bath and the celebration began as the Seawolves finished the season 21-2. (12-2 in League Play....6-0 in Lebanon 3-Pitch Tournament....3-0 in Conn. Valley Championship Run.)

Like Yogi said....."It ain't over til it's over"