What Will This Little League Summer Bring?

The beginning of summer means a lot of things to a lot of people -- trips to the beach, lazy days by the pool and more.

For Little League parents, the start of summer means all-star tournament season, and baseball or softball every day.

For a select few -- like the Toms River Little League team last summer -- it can mean a summer of memories to be cherished for a lifetime.

Last year, the Toms River team of 11- and 12-year-olds were caught up in a media frenzy the likes of which hadn’t been seen in several years, where not only were the kids in demand with the local media, but national media -- drawn in by the stories Toms River’s Kayla Roncin and Mo’ne Davis of Pennsylvania -- dominated more than just the local news.

Roncin and her Toms River teammates made a splash when they won the New Jersey state championship, beating Ocean City 7-6 in a game where Roncin’s towering two-run home run started people talking and her one-pitch relief appearance (sealed by teammate Jon Giordano’s diving catch in center field) put her front and center.

But it was truly a team effort from Toms River, as they headed off to the Mid-Atlantic regional tournament in Bristol, Conn. The team went undefeated to reach the semifinals of the region tournament, before getting knocked out by Newark National Little League of Delaware, which then fell to Davis and her Taney Little League teammates.

Will anyone match the fun brought to Toms River by Connor Cino, Phil Antoniotti, Nick DeRose, Vinny Rose, Jason Kapp, Colin Baker, Christian Wood, Tyler Avallone, Joe Schifilliti, Alex Civitello and William Fleury? Only time will tell.

The journey begins this week, however, and the District 18 and District 19 schedules for all age groups have been posted by the Asbury Park Press, for those who are curious.