Girl Power

by George Diaz

The Lake Mary Little League fastpitch softball team recently made history by becoming the first Florida team in 30 years to compete in the Little League Softball World Series.

The 12-and-under All-Stars punched their ticket to the World Series in Greenville, North Carolina after 

winning district, section, state, and regional tournaments to qualify. 

They were ultimately knocked out of contention after back-to-back losses to Tulsa, Oklahoma, but the Lake Mary girls didn’t let that ruin the joy they shared along the way or mar their many accomplishments.

Even after the girls were eliminated, they continued to celebrate, and deservedly so. Brent Fieser, one of the team’s coaches, says it was a privilege to even be a part of the World Series.

“When we started out at the beginning of the summer, we had a goal to get to the Little League World Series,” says Brent. “So through and through, we accomplished our primary goal.”

Girls Just Want To Have Fun 

Adds Brent, “There was obvious disappointment, but within an hour of the final game, they were all kind of like, ‘Hey, we had a great summer, let’s get back to work. That was great, but now that’s done.’ They had fun playing at the hotel. They went back to just being kids. And that was awesome to see.”

Samantha Bradley, who threw three no-hitters during the season, agrees that while she and her teammates wanted to win the whole thing, they focused on the positive.

“We’re all proud of ourselves,” says Samantha, who was part of a dynamic pitching duo along with Cayden Hugh. 

Two days after returning to Lake Mary, the team got together to watch the World Series final on ESPN. And just days after that, the girls were all smiles and giggles as they put on their uniforms one more time for a Lake Mary All-Star Celebration that featured the boys’ team, as well.

The girls received medals from Mayor David Mealor of Lake Mary, signed posters featuring individual photos of the players (the posters were produced by Lake Mary Life Publishing and sponsored exclusively by AdventHealth), and signed softballs to commemorate their history-making season.

Happiness prevailed as the girls gathered inside Lake Mary City Hall before the celebration began.

“It was a very great experience,” says standout catcher Addison Bono, who hit a home run in every stage of the competition. “I had fun with all these girls because they’re all my best friends and kind of my sisters. It was a very memorable moment because there were a lot of people there [at the World Series]. That might have been the most people I’ve ever played in front of, and it was just a great experience. All the support we received while we were in Greenville was wonderful.”

It was quite the shining moment not only for the girls, but for the entire City of Lake Mary. The boys’ 12U All-Stars baseball tournament run coincided with the Lake Mary girls’ Little League team qualifying for the World Series, prompting many people – far and wide – to marvel at the wealth of talent in our community. 

The boys are winners of three consecutive state championships and were the Little League World Series champs in 2024. This year, the boys almost made it to World Series play again, getting edged out in the regionals by Irmo, South Carolina.

From the Top Down

All that success starts at the top of the Lake Mary Little League program, with its board of directors and coaches.

“The board of directors is doing its best to make the league a desirable place to come,” says Brent. “A lot of the top-level talent plays travel ball. And sometimes when you think of Little League, people think of rec ball. But we’re highly competitive. You can feel it when you come to the park on a Friday night or a Saturday morning. It’s just a great community feel.”

The Lake Mary girls demonstrated their strong competitive nature from the get-go during the World Series. Representing the Southeast Region, they began the tournament with a lopsided 9-2 victory against Northwest Region champ Mill Creek of Washington. Addison drove in six runs with a home run in the first inning and a double in the second.

Lake Mary had a 14-1 record and had outscored opponents 163-11 going into their first game against Tulsa, a 2-1 loss. Lake Mary went on to defeat the New England squad and the Northwest team again, but a subsequent loss to Tulsa knocked them out of the tournament.

“We knew going in we had the talent to get to the World Series and get it done,” says Ryan Bono, the team’s manager and Addison’s father. “Last year some of the girls saw what it took to get there, and the roster this year was a little bit superior to last year. Unfortunately, we just didn’t get it all the way done. But I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.”

Neither would the players. The girls’ once-in-lifetime experience extended far beyond the World Series games, themselves. One of the brightest highlights was making new friends with ballplayers from across the United States and around the world. 

“We all just stuck together,” says Samantha, “and we met lots of players from different countries. It was really cool, because some people didn’t know how to speak English, so we used Google Translate. It was really fun in general.”

Fun and games and memories that will last a lifetime. Lake Mary proud!