Weston - 7/19/07 - Forty years after the 1967 Red Sox rode a series of come-from-behind victories to their ``Impossible Dream' pennant, the Weston 11-and-under All-Stars have used the same formula to capture the Little League District 13 summer championship as well as a win in the first round of the Massachusetts state tournament that resumes tonight at Sandwich. En route to the town's first-ever 11-and-under district title, Weston (now 7-1) overcame huge deficits to pull out consecutive must-win contests against the previously unbeaten Wakefield American team last week. Down 7-1 in the second inning on July 11, the all-stars won 8-7 in eight innings; trailing 5-1 in the fifth the next night, they rallied again for a 6-5 triumph. And after falling behind 5-1 to District 16 champ Saugus in their first state tourney game at Weafer Park in Woburn on Sunday, the junior ``Cardiac Kids' did it yet again - scoring four times in the fourth to knot things up before prevailing 6-5 in seven. Manager Gary Leroy said that, although Weston has strong on-field leaders in slick-fielding shortstop Will Peatman, and the heavy hitting of center fielder David Helfer and catcher Noah Tocci, the key to its success has been that ``there is really no one and everyone who is indispensable on our team. Over the course of the eight games we've played, every single kid has helped us win at least one of them.' The rhythm of the summer was set early, as Weston trailed 5-0 in the first inning of its opener against Wakefield National before exploding for an 18-8 win behind pitcher Brett Rowe.
``That let the kids know that they had the ability to come back, and gave them confidence to keep doing it,' explains Leroy. Although the all-stars lost their next contest to the aforementioned Wakefield Americans, they've rattled off six straight victories since then - five of the come-from-behind variety. Two of their past three contests have gone beyond the normal six innings, and Weston players have grown adept at affixing their rally caps for late-game heroics. True to Leroy's word, the contributors have been numerous. In the July 11 game against Wakefield, Sam Rafla had two key RBI hits, including the game-winner on a single to right field in the eighth while Thomas Russo and Helfer pitched stellar relief over the last seven-plus innings. The next night, Weston sent 11 men to the plate in the fifth to wipe out its 5-1 deficit, with big hits coming from Russo, Henry Bator, Helfer, and Christian Bruce. Russo's second hit of the frame gave his club a 6-5 lead, which Griffin preserved with a perfect sixth inning of relief (including two strikeouts). Jamie Noonan and Blake Asis also had big hits in the Wakefield games, and alternate Max Grundy chipped in with three hits in an early-season contest after vacation conflicts prompted his one-game promotion from the 10-and-under squad. It was more of the same in Sunday's state tournament tilt, as the all-stars overcame more sloppy defense early behind pitchers Brooks Parker and Griffin to tie Saugus 5-5 on a three-run home run over the center-field fence at Woburn by Helfer - his first-ever Little League homer - and then win on an RBI hit from Tocci, who had stayed in the game despite breaking a finger back in the first inning.
``If we get behind early we just try harder,' said Russo. ``We believe in each other.' His father Tom Sr., a Weston coach who followed the '67 Sox as a grade-schooler and later attended dental school with Impossible Dream pitching ace Jim Lonborg, has enjoyed seeing the same attitude employed by his childhood heroes unfold here. ``These kids just never quit, and they've had great fan support behind them all the way,' he said. ``Now we've just got three more big games to win.'