If you asked me what my son’s first love is, I would not hesitate. It’s baseball.

From the moment he could walk up to a tee and take a swing, he fell in love. So each spring, we grab a new pair of white pants that will be covered in grass stains by the end of practice and he plays as long as the season lasts. He tries to be one of the first kids at practice — there’s no award or recognition for that, he just wants to get a few extra minutes on the field. When the season ends, we shift our focus to backyard wiffle ball games and wait for fall ball to start up again.

This year, we were so lucky to see the season continue — the Gorham Majors All-Stars won the District 6 championship for the first time, earning a spot in the state tournament. The winner of that tournament represents the state of Maine in the Little League Eastern Regionals, which sends a team to the World Series. For our 11- and 12-year-olds, this is about as big as it gets. Little League is a truly unique moment in time — you only get so many years.

Twelve Gorham families put their summers on hold and traveled to Machias for the state tournament. Parents commuted three-plus hours each way to meet their obligations at work and to show up for their kid’s game. It wasn’t particularly convenient, but the adults understood this is a once-in-a-childhood experience. The Gorham All-Stars survived the weekend with two wins and one loss. As they prepared to face their next opponent, they understood that it would take focus and some really good baseball to win the championship. They’d been playing all spring, summer and fall for years — they were ready.

Instead, less than an hour before the game, they were disqualified due to an error in regular season play. The complaint came from another team in the tournament. The rule states that All-Stars players will play in at least eight regular season games and that the regular season will have a minimum of 12 games. Gorham players had all played the required eight, but some of the 12 regular season games were rained out and could not be made up. The adults made a mistake in how they interpreted the rule and Gorham’s season came to an abrupt end.

Little League failed at every level.

Gorham Little League made a mistake in how we understood the rule, but the administrators at the state, regional and national level who disqualified them put the letter of the law ahead of the kids. Gorham didn’t have a competitive advantage over any other team. Weather and field availability limited the season and we thought everyone did the best they could.

The boys were devastated to see the season end without closure. Our 12-year-olds didn’t know the previous win would be their last Little League game ever. There were lots of tears and a long, quiet drive home as the players tried to process the highs and lows of the week.

How do we move on from this? I would recommend we take a moment and learn a lesson from our kids. Their All-Star season is over, but they’ll be suiting up for a wood bat game later this week. There’s no trophy or ticket to Williamsport and that’s OK. There’s the sound of the ball cracking off a wooden bat, a chance to make a “top-10” catch in the outfield and a few more innings of their favorite game before summer runs out.