Pennsville LL Senior Softball World Series team immortalized with billboard on clubhouse Wall of Fame
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Bella Rappa was a rock during Pennsville Little League’s run to the Senior Softball World Series last summer, but when it came to unveiling the sign that commemorated the feat during the league’s opening ceremonies Friday night she didn’t mind saying she was a little nervous.
Rappa was called on to pull the bright yellow cord to reveal the billboard that will forever immortalize the team on the clubhouse wall, and it was all she could do to keep a steady hand.
“I didn’t want to pull it and the whole thing come down, but I think I did a pretty good job,” she said.
The dark blue sign is affixed at the far right of a row that carries similar signs from 1985, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2006 and 2022. It reads, “2023 Senior League Softball Eastern Region Champs” and contains the names of each player, manager and coach.
Eagles manager Chris Watson wasn’t sure as late as Thursday who was going to help him pull down the blue sheet covering the sign, but as the time drew closer everyone sensed it was so appropriate for Rappa to do the honors. “It was very cool, actually, the way it worked out,” Watson said.
Rappa lost her dad, Nick, a big supporter of the program, two days after the team won the Section championship and the first baseman dedicated playing the rest of the tournament program for him.
The team rallied around her. They swept the district and sectional tournaments in Pennsville, then swept the state tournament in North Jersey and the regionals in Massachusetts. They advanced to the World Series in Delaware where they went 2-4, beating teams from Puerto Rico and The Philippines in pool play, and ultimately finishing tied for seventh in the 10-team field.
They were welcomed home with a parade down Broadway riding atop a Pennsville fire truck and led out by a Pennsville police cruiser. Unveiling the sign, much like raising the pennant on opening day, was the last official act of a championship season.
“(Seeing the sign) was really nice just because this year there was a lot on the line, especially with the passing of my dad,” Rappa said. “The girls all thought that was our main goal, to get farther than we did last year, so to win East Regions and then be up there back-to-back is something that’s really special to all of us.”
Catcher Kylie Harris was emotional when she unveiled last year’s sign for a team that won the state and were thwarted in the regional final and she was trying not to cry this time.
“Being up there for the second time with the people that I love the most and are closest with, it’s definitely a tear-jerker,” she said.
Since this team has been together it has won district titles six times across various age groups, South Jersey four times and the state championship twice. Watson said the newest sign recognizes one of the best teams in the local LL’s 72-year history.
“It puts them up there at the top, one of the greatest teams to ever play down here at Pennsville Little League,” he said. “I’m very proud of that, that they were able to do it two years in a row. They were knocking at the door for so long, too, and then to finally get over the hump those last two years and win the state championship and go dominate the East Regional is huge. We’ll remember all that a long time.”
“It was pretty cool seeing my name up there two times,” infielder Bella Farina said. “It’s really fun to see all our hard work paid off and be on the side of a building. It’ll be really freaky to see my name up there in like 15-20 years. It’ll be crazy. I don’t know how I would feel.”
Although the championship run didn’t end the way the players would have liked, it provided them a lifetime of memories – memories that no doubt will come rushing back when the players, years from now, perhaps with daughters playing in the league themselves, return to the complex and look up to the clubhouse’s second story.
Rappa will remember “that I did it for my dad and made my dad proud.”
“I’m very proud of myself and my team for fighting through our personal battles and being able to come out on top, even if it is just a sport, but it’s more than just a sport to all of us,” Savannah Palverento said. “I know Little Me would probably be freaking out because these names … I don’t know who they are but just the fact they’re up there is like wow, that’s just amazing, and now my name’s up there twice, so wow, I’m amazing for being up there.”
The Pennsville LL was founded in 1952. Helping with this year’s opening ceremonies were Delaware Blue Rocks mascot Rocky Bullwinkle and the Pennsville Eagle, with Farina under the hood. The mascots threw out ceremonial first pitches.
This year, the league has more than 30 teams for children from 4 to high school age. Among the highlights of this year’s schedule are Pitch, Hit and Run competitions for softball (May 13) and baseball (May 17) and a Home Run Derby (June 1).
Cover photo: Pennsville LL first baseman Bella Rappa pulls off the cover (L) and then embraces manager Chris Watson after unveiling the sign that commemorates the team’s 2023 run to the Senior LL Softball World Series Friday night.
Riverview Sports News 