The Concord National Youth Softball 12U All-Stars team booked a trip down to Bristol, Conn., to represent New Hampshire in the Little League New England Region Tournament for the second year in a row with a win over Mount Monadnock on Saturday, 13-3.

Starting on Sunday at 4 p.m., to be streamed on ESPN+, the Concord team will play Connecticut’s representative team and try to advance to the next round against Massachusetts.

Concord’s bats stayed hot through the series at Martin Field, winning the first game on Friday, 12-2 in five innings, and walking off again in the fifth inning in game two on Saturday.

CNYS had 12 hits in Friday’s victory. Bret Cederberg had a three-RBI triple, and Charlotte Mae Fithian, Kennedy Roo, and Aylah Barton each collected multiple hits. On top of that, the team showed its speed with 23 stolen bases.

Then on Saturday, pitcher Aylah Barton was strong on the mound and helped herself with three hits, two RBIs and three runs. Playing first base, Taylor LaTorra also had three hits and three runs with one RBI to lead CNYS. Leadoff hitter and shortstop Hannah Blodgett whacked a ball past the fence for the only home run of the game.

“It feels really good because we worked really hard and we earned it, and I’m really proud of all of us,” Barton said after the game.

The Concord girls proved to be a tight-knit group. Many had played on the team last year, and they continuously cheered on their friends at the plate with chants, in classic softball fashion.

“Ooh, I like it like that! She’s working that bat! I don’t know how to act! Hit that ball for me! Right field for me, left field for me, center field for me!” rang out from their dugout through it all, powering Concord forward.

Fithian, Concord’s catcher who had two hits in game two, said that the key to winning has been supporting one another, and always being up to catch in the cage with the team’s pitchers has helped the team chemistry immensely.

For the regional tournament, Fithian thinks that supporte will continue to be essential away from home.

“If we’re having a bad day, we have to forget about it. We have to bring it during the game. We just can’t be down, pump each other up. Happiness spreads,” she said.

LaTorra, Blodgett and Barton agreed. They have the skills and have honed them over the past few years, but their mentality going into the regionals will be the difference-maker.

Head coach and president of Concord National, Tim LaTorra, could not have been happier with the result and the growth of the sport.

“It’s special. Last year, to be the ones that got this started in terms of Little League and then to see another team come on board and have to play out a series with girls that have been working hard all spring, all summer and have grown from last year to this year, is pretty special,” he said.

Last year, the Concord girls fell in both of their regional games against Connecticut and Massachusetts, but with an extra year of experience under their belts and a desire for redemption, it will be a whole new pair of ballgames.

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com.