In these difficult times, Farragut’s Public League title in 16-inch softball is source of pride

Operation Midway Blitz, the federal immigration crackdown that began in September, has disrupted daily life in Little Village and other nearby neighborhoods.

“We’ve had a full-on attack on our community,” said Matt DeMateo, the CEO of New Life Centers of Chicagoland. “Dozens of people detained, a 50-60% drop in business on 26th Street. On the church side, our Guatemalan [service attendance] is down from 300 people to 60 people.”

In the midst of that turmoil, Farragut’s 16-inch softball team has provided something for the community to rally around with an underdog run to the city title.

“It’s important to bring a good example to the community and something positive during these tough times,” Farragut senior Yoel Guerra said through an interpreter.

The seeds for the improbable Public League title run were planted 16 years ago on a bumpy grass field in Little Village. New Life, a neighborhood nonprofit offering a variety of services, decided to start a 16-inch softball summer league. The goals: to break down barriers, build community and prevent violence by defusing gang conflicts, among other things.

The field at Farragut wasn’t the best. DeMateo, who was the umpire for those early games, recalls “six-inch divots” that created what players called “the Farragut hop.”

But the league, which started small, kept growing. There are now 20 teams playing at two local parks: La Villita and Piotrowski. At the end of the season, the top teams from both sites come together to play for the championship at UIC.

There’s more than softball, too, with kids games and food, all designed to foster stronger bonds within the community.

It’s an intergenerational league with whole families playing together. But there’s an intentional focus on including Little Village’s young people with a rule requiring every team to have at least five players 19 or under on the field at all times.

Apart from the intended goals, something serendipitous has happened. Some of the best young 16-inch players in the city live in Little Village and attend Farragut, where they play that sport as well as baseball.

The Public League is unique among Illinois conferences in having boys 16-inch softball as a sponsored sport. On Oct. 18, the Admirals made history, winning their first city title in the sport by knocking off the Public League’s two dominant programs. Farragut, with an enrollment of 423, beat Lane (enrollment 4,376) 10-0 in the semifinals and Payton (enrollment 1,251) 14-2 in the championship.

Cary Bolnick, Farragut’s head baseball and 16-inch coach, takes the latter job as seriously as the former. He plays in the New Life league, as do most of his players, holds 16-inch practices in the fall and plays as tough a schedule as possible.

He saw the stars aligning for this historic season.

“For the last two years, I’ve told the guys we were good enough to win it,” Bolnick said.

His players bought in.

“We said from the very start that we had it [in us],” said senior Ben DeMateo, one of Matt’s sons. “Last year, we had a good team. I think this team brought a lot more energy.”

The Admirals embrace their underdog role.

“If you’d read it as someone who didn’t know — this small, 400-kid school, you’d be surprised, thinking, ‘This shouldn’t happen,’ ’’ junior Nico Roman said. “Like this is a one-and-done year. But we’re gonna keep this same [attitude] . . . coming for the next couple of years.”

“To win it as a little school, it feels good because I brought something back to my neighborhood, my school,” junior Ethan Ocampo said.

“It’s the pride of Little Village, the pride of being Latino,” Matt DeMateo said.

And the pride of being the best in the city.