BRISTOL, Conn. – Bedford's Little League baseball all-stars, a group of businesslike 11- and 12-year-olds, have quite a story to tell when school starts in a few weeks.

Coming oh-so-close to clinching a berth at the 66th annual Little League World Series? That's a tale that's tough to top.

Bedford's storybook summer ended Saturday night with a 14-0 loss to Fairfield (Conn.) American Little League in the New England Regional championship. But Bedford's regional runner-up finish – watched by a national television audience on ESPN and 4,700 fans lining Breen Field – was no small feat.

“They're living every kid's dream – every dad's dream,” said Laura Lee, whose son Ryan, the owner of a smile perfect for TV, held the American flag during the national anthem. “That's amazing.”

So, too, is the fact Bedford fans made the 152-mile trip to cheer their youth-hardball heroes. Fairfield fans traveled one-third of the distance in support of the regional's undefeated No. 1 seed (19-1 overall, 6-0 N.E.).

Shortstop Will Lucas fueled Fairfield's 14-hit attack. The No. 3-hitter went 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Grant Lavigne, in turn, belted a single, double and triple – three of Bedford's seven hits.

“It's been a great run. We're playing baseball and it's August 11. It doesn't get much better than that, unless we were playing next Thursday in Williamsport,” said Bedford manager Kevin Lavigne, referencing the Pennsylvania town that annually hosts the Little League World Series.

Long before Fairfield's five-run fifth and sixth innings, starting pitcher Timmy Saltzman made the game's first toss to home plate for third-seeded Bedford. ESPN's “Baseball Tonight” host Karl Ravech, the broadcast's play-by-play man, made the call for thousands to hear.

It was but one perk for Bedford (10-3 overall, 3-3 N.E.) in a week filled with them.

Living in the dormitories at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Little League Leadership Training Center, playing under the lights on a pristine field, and trading keepsake pins were among the memorable moments.

The opportunity afforded Bedford's 13 ballplayers wasn't lost on 14-year-old Brooke Barrett, whose brother started at second base and snared a run-saving, third-inning line drive.

Video: Bedford manager Kevin Lavigne's postgame comments:


“Jealousy,” Joey Barrett's big sister said half-jokingly when asked to sum up her championship-game emotion. “Having this experience, at 12, I don't know how else to word it.”

East Region assistant director Corey Wright, busy overseeing the New England and Mid-Atlantic regionals, placed Bedford's run to the regional final in perspective.

Little League, he said, features roughly 2,100 all-star teams that hail from the U.S. corridor running from Maine to Maryland.

“There are 12 teams (six per region) that get here – 12 out of 2,100,” Wright said while New Hampshire's state champs warmed up in right field. “The odds are incredible.”

Of course, Bedford wasn't satisfied with simply reaching the final. They stood one win from becoming the state's first Little League program to twice qualify for the 16-team World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

Bedford's 1993 team managed by Greg Joseph played for the U.S. championship. Of the state's four teams to reach the World Series – Dover North (1987), Bedford, Goffstown (2000) and Portsmouth (2006) – Joseph's juggernaut made the deepest summer run.

“Because of the '93 team, every player that comes through Bedford Little League wants to be on the team that gets back to Williamsport,” said 20-year Bedford Little League umpire Mike Robinson, who this year received the chance to call regional games that didn't feature the hometown boys.

Bedford's all-stars, while trotting to the dugout for their last at-bat, received a well-deserved standing ovation from the town's countless red-clad fans.

They weren't in any rush to leave the facility, either.

“To watch them grow up together on the field, and overcome what they used to struggle with,” Lee said while choking up, “it's a special team.”

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Marc Thaler may be reached at mthaler@unionleader.com.