Striking distance

Parkway National steps closer to Little League regional win

Parkway National manager John Picarello talked to the team prior to the game against Connecticut yesterday. Parkway teams have made it to the New England Region Tournament six times. No Parkway team has gone to the World Series. (PHOTOS BY BARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF)

It is the mix-and-match of uniforms that draws attention to this group of 12 and 13-year-olds from Roslindale and West Roxbury.

At the highest stage of Little League baseball play in New England, the Parkway National team is a splash of color: 13 all-star players each still sporting their regular season uniforms but playing as a single team with the goal of making it to the Little League World Series.

"Everybody looks at us, and they say. ". . . They're not even wearing the same uniforms; what's wrong with them?' " Dave Greenwood, one of the coaches on the team, said in a telephone interview from Bristol, Conn., where the team has been competing for the past week.

So while other teams wear matching uniforms, don't expect the tradition at Parkway to die anytime soon. The team swept through sectionals and districts on their way to becoming the 2008 Massachusetts state champions. Now, they have a record of 12-2 and are two wins away from becoming the New England region champs. If they win that title, they will advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., where eight regional champions from across the country and eight international champions from around the globe will vie for the title of world's best.

"The first thing we stress [is] it's not about the Giants or the Dodgers anymore," Greenwood said. "It's about Parkway National. And the kids, they don't care who they played for in the regular season. It's all about one team now."

The players wear the same hats, he said.

Defense is their strength. In 10 of the 14 games they have played so far, they have held their opponents to two or fewer runs. The gritty playing style reflects the player's backgrounds.

Kerry Ann O'Shea, the secretary for Parkway Little League, said, "Most of the players come from working-class families."

Added Mike Naughton of West Roxbury whose son Patrick is on the team: "We're just an assortment of blue collar folks. We have parents who are police officers, firefighters, all walks of life."

Naughton, a 44-year-old MBTA inspector, was interviewed by telephone yesterday as he drove from work to Bristol to watch the game. He drove back home last night to grab a few hours of sleep before reporting to work at 5 a.m. today. He said he will head out again today for Bristol to catch the semifinal game.

The team lost 8-0 to Connecticut yesterday afternoon, but prior to that game the players had locked up one of four spots in the semifinals today. The championship game will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday. Parkway teams have made it to the New England Region Tournament six times, the last time in 1996. No Parkway team has gone to the World Series.

While baseball has been the attraction for the past week at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Little League facility in Bristol, the players have had full schedules off the diamond, visiting the nearby ESPN studios, taking a trip to a local water park, as well as playing video games and trading pins with other state champion teams from Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The players have been staying in college-style dorms since arriving.

Brian Forgione, the team's home-run leader, said, "It's pretty cool, because you get to talk with all the other players, and visiting ESPN was cool."

The team's first defeat this season came last week against New Hampshire. "We just didn't get our bats going," said Forgione, 13.

Parkway almost pulled out a win in the last inning when a batter hit a line-drive shot that had a chance to score at least one of two base runners, but New Hampshire's first baseman, who stands at almost 6 feet, reached out and snagged the ball out of the air, before it could make it to the outfield. Parkway lost 2-1.

"We missed by 8 inches," Greenwood said.

He added that the team has handled the defeat well and has managed to stay relaxed throughout the tournament despite the ever-increasing spotlight. At least 300 supporters have traveled from Boston to Bristol to cheer on the team, and with each game the crowds grow thicker.

Yesterday's game was televised on NESN, which will also air today's game. All future games through the World Series will be broadcast on either NESN or ESPN.

"Brian, he doesn't really like having his picture taken, and it's getting tougher now for him to get past the photographers," Greenwood said.

Brian's father, Anthony Forgione, said he is proud of his son.

"He really shined this year," Forgione said. "What happens from here is all icing on the cake. The team won state and will have that for the rest of their lives. I had no idea what the kids got at this level. It's kind of like winning a prize. They get to go on these fun outings, and the complex where they are staying is amazing. They earned themselves a weeklong vacation at a little league resort."