Game Faces

It was over long before the last inning. Everyone just knew.

Zach Wesley knew when he stepped in to relieve pitcher Alex Alba and immediately gave up two home runs.

“I was all over the place,” he said of his pitching in the Cypress Federal all-stars’ Little League World Series game. “I don’t know what was going on with me.”

Craig Campbell knew when his nephew, Cory Campbell, made the first of a string of team errors that contributed to a 6-4 loss that knocked Cypress out of contention for the world championship. He stood dejectedly on the field, squeezing his eyes shut and refusing to acknowledge his family’s cheers from the stands.

“Look at him,” Campbell said. “He’s trying not to cry.”

But when it was finally over and the Cypress team left Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pa., the tears were already gone. The players huddled for a moment with Manager Greg Novy and broke away, looking humble but strong, united with their heads up and their faces dry.

“Now we can all relax,” Coach Dave Koscielak said, breaking the silence as the team filed out of the dugout.

Above them in the stands, a few eyes were still damp. With tears trickling down her cheeks, Zach Wesley’s mother, Anita, sat and stared down at the team.

“They are so brave,” she said. “They have made us all so proud.”

Ron Koscielak, whose grandson, Eric, plays left field, nodded his head. “They are an incredible group of boys,” he said.

A continent away, friends and fans back home shared that sentiment, along with the pain of the loss. More than 150 people packed the Cypress Family Pizza restaurant on Ball Road to watch the six-inning game, broadcast live from Pennsylvania, and to pull for their all-stars at a support-the-team party.

The local fans, including a contingent of Cypress High School cheerleaders, rooted in vain for their Little League all-stars while eating pizza and sausage sandwiches. The party was dedicated to the “Parents Fund for Williamsport.” A 3-foot-tall soda bottle was nearly a third full of bills donated to defray the cost of sending the team to the World Series.

The boys from Cypress had arrived at the World Series with a 17-0 record--the only team to get to Williamsport undefeated. Monday’s loss to a team from Toms River, N.J., was their first, and they took it hard.

Though Wednesday night’s defeat knocked them out of contention for the Little League World Championship, somehow it hurt less.

“It’s bad, but it’s not that bad,” Nathan Lara, 12, assured his father after the game. “I’ve felt better, but I’ve felt worse too.”

Center fielder Pat Cassa agreed: “We came a long way and we played hard. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Zach Wingo shrugged and leaned against his mother, willing the tears to stay away.

“We made it all the way here and got real good at winning,” he said. “But someone has to lose and it was finally our turn, I guess.”

That was what parents needed to hear after sharing two months of triumphs, a whirlwind trip to Williamsport and a heart-breaking dose of reality. What they wanted now was for their boys to feel proud and remember the amazing string of wins that got them here.

“Their horse just ran out of luck,” Kevin Wesley said of the Cypress team. “It’s the hardest part of being a champion--sometimes you’ve got to lose. But they are champions, and that’s what they have to hold on to.”

John Meixel tugged at his son’s cap as he headed back to the team’s barracks after the game.

“Hey, what a ride, huh, Scott,” Meixel said.

The 12-year-old smiled.

“You’re the best,” his dad said.

Another smile, bigger this time.

“We love you.”

Times staff writer Peter M. Warren contributed to this report.

* THE GAME: See Sports, C1