Patch Is Sponsoring The Titans, A Team In The Fairfield Girls Softball League

As a softball enthusiast, Laura Pitaniello would love to see her two young daughters learn to love the sport as much as she does.
 
That is why she volunteered to coach the Titans, the team in the Fairfield Girls Softball League that is being sponsored by Patch.
 
"I just want to get my daughters involved in softball and I thought this was the best way," said Pitaniello, who plays in a co-ed softball league in town.
 
She also recognizes the community service Patch is doing by agreeing to sponsor the team. Sponsorships cost $375 per team.
 
"We're so thrilled that they've taken an interest in the Fairfield Girls Softball League,which we really appreciate," Pitaniello added. "And now that we're getting our own field, we're excited about that."
 
On April 12, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved an application to build a field for the league on Hoyden’s Lane by a 5-1 vote.  This was the final approval needed before parks and recreation can break ground at the site.
 
The Titans are one of 25 teams in the league playing in five different divisions: A, AA, AAA, majors and juniors. The ages range from seven and eight in the A division to 13 and 14 in the juniors.
 
Since the Titans are in the youngest division, they don't play competitive games. No score is kept nor are standings and statistics tracked.
 
"It's more instructional than competitive," said Rich Barone, who is responsible for securing sponsorships and also helps out the league with photography needs. "I call it the kiddie league. They're really learning the game from scratch."
 
The games are only three innings, every player bats in each inning and the coaches pitch to the players. Eleven of the 13 players on the Titans, including Pitaniello's daughters Jessica, 8, and Camille, 7, attend the Burr School.
 
At this level, most of the players on a team are assigned from the same school. That keeps friends together and  helps make participation more enjoyable. The Titans play a 12-game schedule that continues through mid-June.
 
For Pitaniello, the most enjoyable aspect of coaching is seeing the look on the face of one her young charges when they do something positive.
 
"It's trying to develop an interest in softball for the girls," she said. "It's to reach the fundamentals and foster a love of softball."
 
From the business side of things, Barone said that sponsorships are vital to keep the league afloat.
 
According to Barone, when an organization such a Patch elects to sponsor a team, it keeps the parental costs to $125 per family.
 
"Our sponsors, of which Patch is one, really keep the cost to the parents respectable," Barone said. "In this economy, that really helps."
 
While the A Division is just for fun, things are a bit more competitive in the older age groups. While the league has held steady at between 315-330 players for the past four of five years, it has enjoyable considerable success.
 
Two years ago, Fairfield won state championships in the 10- and 11-year-old divisions. A year ago, the 10-year-olds again won the state title and got to compete in an inaugural regional tourney in Pennsylvania, where they lost in the final.
 
The girls league is not big enough to have an American and National League like the boys. As most Fairfielders must know, Fairfield American played in the Little League World Series last summer.
 
Fairfield American helped form the girls league 10 years ago and according to Barone, most of the players in the softball league tend to come from that side of the town. The schools in that section of Fairfield include Sherman, Riverfield, Osborn Hill, Mill Hill and Dwight. The league also attacts players from St. Thomas, a parochial school.
 
'We don't draw as well from what is considered the National League side of town," Barone said. "We haven't figured that out yet."