Although bright , the glow from the outdoor lights on the patio at the Walk Street Tavern fundraiser for the New Hyde Park Little League girls softball eastern region champs on Friday night did not outshine the glow on the faces of the 11- and 12-year-old softball players headed for their first World Series in Portland Ore. this week.
The fundraiser was held to raise money to defray the cost of the girls and their families to fly to Portland for the tournament. And the players’ pride in the opportunity to represent their village and the eastern region as one of 10 teams in the tourney was evident.
“We’re not just representing New Hyde Park,” said speedy outfielder Emma Nidermaier. “We’re a little team representing a big area.”
Emma’s mother, Katie Nidermaier, said she told Emma’s younger brother and sister that the family had a choice for their vacation between visiting Disneyland and going to watch their big sister play in the World Series.
The World Series, she said, won hands down.
“My family’s thrilled,” Katie Nidermaier said.
Linda Ward, mother of one of New Hyde Park’s star pitchers, Melissa Ward, offered her perspective on the girls upcoming World Series adventure.
“This is the experience of a lifetime. And they love each other,” Ward said.
Ward is making the trip, but hasn’t seen her daughter pitch all year – even in the eastern region championship clincher – and won’t be watching her pitch in Portland either. Not that she won’t occupy her to Oregon.
“Whenever she pitches, I find a spot far, far away. It’s very stressful when she pitches,” Ward said.
That’s spawned a team joke about “Where’s Waldo?,” referring to Ward’s mom.
Jackie Hickey, mother of another stellar New Hyde Park hurler, Jenny Hickey, recalled looking back at pictures of her daughter playing softball over the years, including one of her holding a bat at age two.
“Anything that happens from here, it doesn’t matter,” she said. “Everything you do to get here, it was quite a trip.”
Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello said the New Hyde Park girls softball players are already winners, whatever the outcome in Portland.
“The fact that they’ve gotten this far is a huge achievement. This group of players is from a small community,” Nicolello said.
Tom Donnelly, the team’s head coach, said he and coaches Ray Ward, Tom Grimshaw and Tom Fitzpatrick held daily practices with the girls last week, focusing primarily on offense, and were holding a practice on Monday focusing on defense. The team was departing for Portland on Tuesday with a practice day slated for Wednesday before their first game against a team from the Phillipines in the opening round.
Teams are divided into groups of five in the opening round-robin phase. The two teams with the best records in each group advance to the semifinals on Tuesday, with the final to be played next Wednesday.
“I expect that we’ll be in every game,” Donnelly said. “We know they’re won’t be any cakewalks.”
He said he was pleased at the turnout for the fundraiser, as the softball players had a chance to enjoy each other’s company.
“We’re just going to celebrate, let the girls have fun and raise a little money,” he said.
Slugging catcher Ann Grimshaw said she wasn’t sure whether she was going to used the new Easton bats the girls will be given as part of their World Series package. But she was also sure she and her teammates would be competitive.
“I know we’re a good team. I think we can beat everybody,” she said.
The girls said they weren’t nervous about the tournament and third baseman Maggie Donnelly said she planned to have fun and play her game.
“I’m just trying to look at it as another game,” she said.
The fundraiser, dubbed a “Night at the Races” included eight mock horse races with chances being sold at $2 per ticket.
Edward Powers presented checks for $50 apiece on behalf of the Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce and the Stewart Manor-New Hyde Park Republican Club, along with a check for $100 from the New Hyde Park Funeral Home.
Tom Pellegrino, outgoing president of the New Hyde Park Little League, announced that the little league was contributing $600 to each player’s family to defray costs of the Portland trip.
Asked how he felt about leaving his post after six years on this high note, Pellegrino said, “It’s overwhelming. It’s a phenomenal way to go out.”
