After putting up back-to-back 10-0 victories over Worcester and Melrose, the Oxford Senior Little League team once again found themselves as state champions. For the second straight year, the Oxford team headed to the regional tournament in Bangor, Maine. 

Going up against eight teams in the regional tournament, Oxford came across something they had not experienced all season long - a loss. Maryland took home a 9-8 win, putting the first blemish on Oxford’s perfect record. The eight errors made in the opening game were a significant contribution to the loss.

“Playing in a double elimination tournament, losing that first game really hurt us,” Oxford Coach Jay Reyes said. “If we had only committed five errors, we probably would have won that game. Losing put us in a tough situation: if we lose again, we’re all done.”

The Massachusetts team found themselves trailing 8-4 going into the final inning. Oxford scraped across one run before Owen Leavey launched a three-run homer to tie the contest. In the bottom of the inning, Oxford pitchers administered two walks, a passed ball and a blooper to seal the loss.

But the Oxford team put that loss behind them and focused on the task at hand. Over the next four games, Oxford played the type of baseball that got them to the regional tournament in Maine. For the second straight year, they advanced into the championship bracket. But they were up against a high task – they would have to defeat Delaware twice without losing once to capture the regional title.

The championship game brought the kind of excitement one hoped for, as both teams managed a single run through four innings. Oxford pushed across another run in the sixth to take the lead, leaving the team with hopes of forcing a winner-take-all game. Unfortunately, the Massachusetts champs allowed a walk, an error, and a base hit with three runs scoring - and Delaware closed the door on Oxford once again. 

“We needed two wins and with the team being up 2-1 late we thought that it was going to be enough,” the coach said. “But the walks [six in total] came back to hurt us again and put the game in a different perspective.”

Reyes went on to state that Delaware was very patient at the plate, while Oxford was not getting the calls from the umpires and that sealed their doom. Mason Foskett went five innings for Oxford allowing one hit, two earned runs, with six walks and nine strikeouts. 

“To lose in the championship game two years in a row was tough on the kids. A lot of these kids have played together for some time,” Reyes said. “Looking back on that first game really hurt us the most. If we had won that game things would have looked very different. I think that we were the better team throughout this series.”

Over the last four years, Chase Reyes has found his way into the regional tournament in all four years (two years with the Auburn Little League as 13- and 14-year-olds, and two with Oxford as 15- and 16-year-olds). He will be one of many players who will move on next summer, leaving the Oxford team with a very different look. 

The Oxford players (13 from Oxford and three from Charlton) learned how to lose in a high-stakes game last year, and unfortunately, they learned this hard lesson again.

“We had very high expectations coming into this year,” Reyes said. “If we don’t lose that first game - I believe that we win the tournament.”

It’s a guaranty that the Oxford Senior Little League team will rebuild for next summer’s play. How it will look and how far the team will go will be exciting to watch.