'This is definitely my best summer': Canton Little Leaguers fall a play short in Regionals

When the Canton Little Leaguers go back to school this fall they’ll have a good story to tell.

Canton was just one game away from heading to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the Little League World Series. Instead, it fell short in the New England Region Championship game to Gray-New Gloucester/Raymond, Maine, in Bristol, Connecticut, in a tough 2-1 defeat.

The experience itself is almost a dream come true, something head coach Ryan Archibald and his crew couldn’t have imagined. With a lot of good baseball towns in Massachusetts, Archibald kept his goals simple at first. Then it grew.

Before they knew it, they were making town history, becoming the first Canton team to win sectionals and states. Last time they made it to sectionals was in 2003.

“No expectations,” said Archibald. "Just have fun and compete, we knew we had a talented group, the kids felt it, coaches felt it, our immediate goal was to get out that district … to get out of that, we haven’t done that in 20 years. That was our early goal, so to achieve that was phenomenal. To think we’d ever be a play away from going to Williamsport was never part of the plan.”

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After the bottom of the second inning, Maine was up, 2-0. However, Canton fought back and began to play stiff defense. The game ended on a strikeout with Canton baserunners on second and third. Canton was only a hit away from tying the game.

Declan Kelliher drove in Mikey Zollo in the top of third for Canton's only run and cut the Maine lead in half. He said during the week in Bristol, the team played whiffle ball, watched games and went out to dinner and lunch every day.

On top of that, playing on ESPN is also a nice brag to mention as he goes into 7th grade.

“This is definitely my best summer,” said Kelliher. "It’s just a really nice opportunity to be here. All my friends are watching from home.”

Whether it was comeback runs, or a 7-1 loss to Maine earlier in the tournament, Canton never quit. The players learned a lot about themselves this summer. They’re happy for the experience in general.

“Really proud,” said Kelliher. “Not a lot of people expected us to make it this far. It was a good run. Went undefeated, our hard work paid off. I’m just happy we made it this far.”

All three coaches on the team – Ryan Archibald, Aaron Chabot, and Greg Zollo – have sons on the team (Nathan Chabot, Mikey and Sam Archbibald). As a team, and as fathers, it’s been a great bonding time to share the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“We’ve gotten to know each other very well,” said Ryan Archibald. "It’s been great to spend time with the coaches and the kids. We’ve all been staying together down here in this dorm-like environment. But it’s been a special time to bond and spend time together and compete at this level.”

Nate Chabot, who was lights out on the mound for their entire trip, finished with eight strikeouts after throwing 79 pitches.

“Nate’s been doing this for weeks,” said Archibald. “And every single time he’s gotten the ball he’s been doing that, which is incredible. It’s the reason we’re here. He hasn’t had a slip up and he was dominant tonight against an incredibly good team.”

Canton players were visibly emotional as they walked off the field and embraced by friends and families. The big picture of what they had done hasn’t quite hit yet, but when it does, they’ll always remember it.

“First off, shocking,” said Ryan Archbibald. “You don’t think about Williamsport as a realistic thing to happen. And then you win a couple games, you win the district and then you’re like ‘wow, we’re not that far away if a couple more wins happen. Just incredibly proud of what the kids did, what they accomplished, it’s just been an incredible run.”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: 'Really proud': Canton Little Leaguers' historic run ends at Regionals