By Andrea Mazzarelli
This year is the second year in a row that the Phillies have made it all the way to the championship. No, not the Philadelphia Phillies, but the St. Mary’s Major League 10-12 year olds and they have won both years in a row. With the season spanning the months from May to July, the Phillies posted an outstanding 13 and 1 regular season record and then went on to sweep their two playoff series in the hunt for the championship trophy.
During their 2010 season, the Phillies have had some of the most staggering statistics in St. Mary’s history. With a very strong batting order, the boys were able to send the ball way past the 190 foot center field marker, ringing in a team record-breaking 29 homeruns. Leading the way with a league-high 15 homeruns of his own was pitcher Christian DiBerto with the rest of the team close behind him.
Also, starting pitchers Maxx Anderson, Christian DiBerto, and Hadi Hamdan showed great poise on the mound all season.
The Phillies opened up the post-season against the Indians and quickly captured a 2 out of 3 series victory.
They went on to face the Red Sox, the team that handed them their only loss last year in the 2009 season. In the 2009 post-season, the Phillies defeated the Red Sox 7-0 in the championship game and looked to secure another title in back to back years. Game one of the series favored the Phillies.
In game two, they were up 5-0 going into the final inning and Phillies’ Maxx Anderson was pitching a no hitter when Red Sox Jake DeAngelo brought home one walked batter with an RBI double. The score ended up 5-1 Phillies, with the final effort being tagged out at home plate for the Red Sox.
“We owe this championship, and this whole season’s success, to our coach John Leone†said Anderson after the game. “This is the second one in a row.†Phillies’ manager John Leone and assistant coaches Eric Anderson, Ricky Mastropietro, and Gennaro Cataldo worked closely with the team all season on pitching, batting, and strategy. Much of the team’s success is attributed to the coaching staff.
“These boys worked hard,†noted John Leone. “These have been the best two years of my life, coaching this team. I got to coach most of these kids for two years and now they’re moving up†said Leone.
There are five Phillies that will have to move up to the Babe Ruth league next year: Anderson, DiBerto, Hamdan, Zack Reed, and Peter Luongo. Despite losing some players to the Babe Ruth league, the Phillies still hope to make a run at a three-peat championship in 2011 at St. Mary’s.
