Cervasio chronicled Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester's successful comeback from cancer. She was the first to interview Clay Buchholz following his no-hitter in just his second major-league start.

She's been center stage as championship caps and celebratory bottles of champagne made their rounds in the Red Sox locker room, and even had a confetti-filled seat on a duck boat during the championship parade of 2007.

But even with all the former NESN reporter has seen, you still can hear the excitement in her voice as she prepares for today's Little League broadcast from Bristol, Conn. Portsmouth Little League looks to stay alive in the New England Regional against Lincoln, R.I., in a game that NESN will televise live starting at 1 p.m.

Portsmouth (1-2) finds itself in a must-win game after dropping a 5-4 decision to Glastonbury (Conn.) National and a 7-5 game to Massachusetts champion Peabody Western on Tuesday.

"It's really baseball at its purest form," said Cervasio. "You see the raw talent of these 10-, 11-, 12—year-olds. You see the level of coaching ... you see the fundamentals of the game, and you just see the pure joy of the game."

NESN and the Madison Square Garden network (MSG) enter their second year of a partnership to televise both the New England and Mid-Atlantic Little League regional tournaments. Established in 2008, the network partnership marked the first time that two regional networks combined to deliver live coverage of Little League baseball.

"This is the second year we've done it and it was so much fun to do," said Cervasio. "To have two networks come together for something like this is great, and for me personally it's great because it is New England and New York and it really gives me an opportunity to see a lot of old friends."

From 2006-08, Cervasio was NESN's field reporter for the Red Sox, providing live reports from the field for pre- and post-game shows as well as several in-game segments each night. After the 2008 season, Cervasio joined the MSG sports team, a move that helped the reporter return home.

While Cervasio reported on some of the greatest moments in Red Sox history, her broadcast partner for today's game, Dave Roberts, provided one himself. In 2004, Roberts' steal of second base late in Game 4 of the American League championship series was a huge spark in Boston's storied comeback against the New York Yankees.

After originally signing on as a NESN studio host, Roberts has been filling in as a Red Sox color analyst for Jerry Remy, who is recovering from cancer surgery.

"I'm really excited to be working with Dave," said Cervasio. "This is his first year as a broadcaster and he's come in under a lot of pressure. He's come in and filled in for Jerry and he's really worked at this and has really taken to it. I know (play-by-play announcer) Don (Orsillo) and (vice president of programming and executive producer) Joel Feld are thrilled with him."

With eight Little League games scheduled to be broadcast, including the semifinal rounds of both tournaments, work on today's broadcast began Tuesday with meetings with both players and coaches.

"We start with about eight hours of meetings with the coaches," said Cervasio. "(Tuesday) is the day we gather stats, line-ups and learn all we can for the broadcast."

For Cervasio, there's just as much of the story in the stands as there is on the field.

"During the game, a lot of it is about the parents," said Cervasio. "They sacrifice a lot to be there. They travel in from Pennsylvania, New York, Washington, and so many of them leave their jobs to be there with their children."