‘Go, Virginia!’: McLean Softballers Swing for World Championship

The McLean Little League Softball All-Stars will represent the town Wednesday night in the championship game of the 2013 Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Oregon.

The girls from McLean will face off against the team from Sunnyside, AZ, in the finals beginning at 11 p.m. EST -- our time.

Our time, indeed.

"The entire community is rooting for the McLean softball team competing in the Little League World Series finals," Mike Mendler, president of McLean Little League said. "This has been a true team effort from the very start of the tournament with every player making a valuable contribution to get to the finals."

McLean qualified for the World Series tournament by winning the Southeast Regional tournament in Georgia in late July. It was the McLean Little League's third Southeast Regional title since 2004.

This year's squad will try and repeat the performance of McLean's 2005 team, the town's last team to qualify for the World Series. The 2005 squad vaulted from their Southeast Regional title to a World Series championship a few weeks later.

The 2013 girls were a perfect 3-0 in World Series pool play, earning them a spot in the semi-finals Tuesday night. There, they took down the all-stars from Robbinsville, NJ, by a final score of 6-3 to earn a spot in the championship game.

"It is nice to know that the rest of the country will get the opportunity to see the high quality of our local Little League program and the positive impact that it is having on the lives of so many children in our community," Mendler said of the team's berth in the final game.

Despite nearly 3,000 miles of separation and a three-hour time difference, the town has rallied behind the team as it pursues a world title.

Rocco's Italian Restaurant, a family-owned establishment that opened in McLean 36 years ago, hosted a viewing party for the semi-final game on Tuesday night and will stay open late to host another viewing party for the championship game Wednesday night.

"We are honored to host the viewing parties for the games," Mike Juliano, owner of Rocco's, said. "We have been a proud sponsor of McLean Little League for more than 30 years, and the McLean family has been good to us."

Residents of McLean are beaming with pride over the team's accomplishments and the possibility that they could be returning home with another world championship.

Victoria Horn was born and raised in McLean, and grew up playing softball in the McLean Little League system for coach Gerry Megas, the coach of this year's all-star team. More than a decade after her Little League days, she remains a fan of the team and a proud member of the community.

"Who ever really thinks they'll see a hometown team, of 12-year-olds no less, featured on a national channel like ESPN?" Horn said. "It's very exciting to see.

"They're obviously great girls if they've made it that far, and are definitely fantastic players," Horn added. "Mr. Megas really pushes his teams to succeed, so clearly they've done magnificently under his direction."

With the all-stars just one game away from its ultimate goal, family and friends from our side of the country will be doing everything they can to help bring another World Series title back to McLean.

"We’re obviously hoping the girls can win in the finals and we'll be rooting hard," Juliano said. "Go Virginia!"