While East Side Little League, a 12-and-under baseball team from West Chester, competed in South Williamsport, Pa., a crowd cheered them on at home.
On Friday, East Side lost, 3-1, to Bayonne Central Little League — a team representing New Jersey and the Metro Region — in the West Chester squad’s first matchup of the Little League World Series. Despite outhitting Bayonne Central, 6-5, East Side could not bring in its runners.
The team’s lone run came at the top of the fifth when Jack Cassidy’s hit brought Dillon DiGiulio home.
While East Side never led on Friday, the team’s faithful kept hope alive inside of Saloon 151, a bar in downtown West Chester. Fans arrived to the bar early and stayed until the final out.
“The West Chester community is awesome,” said Mike Calio, who has two sons who previously played for East Side. “The amount of support that comes out for them is insane. This is awesome. The parents love it. The grandparents love it. The kids love it.”
Added Carrie Iannelli: “It’s awesome that they’re supporting the boys. You’re seeing it all over West Chester, not just here tonight, but all over — businesses, people. It’s just really supporting the team and helping them get what they need to be supported up there. A lot of buses went up, so I think that’s really cool.”
It’s a double-elimination tournament, so East Side’s championship chances are not over. The team will play in an elimination game on Monday (7 p.m., ESPN).
It won’t be the first time this year East Side needed to claw out of a loser’s bracket. After losing in the Pennsylvania state tournament, the team rattled off five consecutive wins to make it to the Mid-Atlantic regionals.
“They had the mentality of, ‘Hey, we’re not ready to go home yet,’” East Side coach Bob Hennessey previously told The Inquirer. “I think it was just like, ‘Stay focused, go out there, and continue to play your game.’”
‘It’s a brotherhood’
Saloon 151 was packed with former and current East Side players.
Ryan Tench, a West Chester native who played for East Side growing up, came to the bar to cheer on his former team with a group of his old Little League teammates. The group managed to stick together through high school and college.
“The environment is electric,” Tench said. “It brings back a lot of memories. … To be able to share memories when I’ve played, and now to share memories with people that I’m with now and watching the same kids, it’s awesome. I love it.
“It’s a brotherhood. Honestly, these are lifelong friends that you will have for the rest of your life, and it’s amazing. I’m happy for these kids. I hope they do well, and we’re all rooting them on.”
On the other side of the bar, Peter Castagna sat at a table with his son, Eamon, who plays for East Side’s 10U team. In two years, Eamon Castagna will have a chance to make it to Williamsport himself. In the meantime, he is soaking in all the attention the program is getting.
“It means that people support East Side, and people are ready to cheer for East Side, and people are just happy that they’re at the Little League World Series,” Eamon Castagna said. “It feels good because you know that East Side has good players. And it lets East Side be known to the world, really.”
Peter Castagna is hoping that East Side’s run, which has captured the Philadelphia area’s attention, will teach his son a few lessons.
“Not every kid has to make the Little League World Series in order to be successful,” Peter Castagna said. “But I think it just shows if you work hard, and whatever you’re working hard at, you will be successful.”
