You don't get to the regionals of the Little League baseball tournament every year. When you do, you have to make the most of it. Even if you're not one of the nine players on the field.
Charlie Stahley, a 12-year-old from Andover, tried out for the Andover Nationals but didn't make the squad. However, that hasn't stopped him from supporting his friends.
Stahley, along with five other Andover crazies, were bare-chested for Tuesday's win over Yarmouth, Maine. Stahley had a capital "D" painted across his chest.
"I'm really close friends with all of them," Stahley told the Eagle-Tribune "It's really fun [being the 'D']."
The "D", along with five other letters, spelled out "Andova." Stahley and his friends couldn't find a seventh person willing to stand in the heat throughout the game to spell "Andover."
Garrett Finn, son of manager Paul Finn, was the seventh man earlier but wasn't up for another day of sweating paint.
"I did it yesterday, but I got all sweaty," Garrett said. "[The paint] was all dripping down. It wasn't so fun. It was brutal."
Andover lost to Goffstown, N.H., on Wednesday, but they're still alive, as they'll get a rematch with Goffstown in the New England regional semifinals on Thursday night at 7 p.m. on NESN.
If they advance to the Little League World Series, Stahley, Matt Nichols (The "O") and other chest-paint bearers will gladly make the trip to Williamsport to support their friends.
"It's fun," Nichols said. "It's the best the team has been in a long time."
