Little League Majors Playoffs

Editor's Note: If you missed the big game, you're in luck. Palm Harbor Patch Contributor, Mark Munsey gives us a "radio style" play-by-play of all the action.

The first round of the May 14 Lou Caprara District 12 Major Baseball Championship Tournament found Palm Harbor coming to bat in a very unfamiliar position; on the working end of a 1-0 score in the bottom of the first against Countryside.

Leadoff Anthony Boyle and Kyle Bailey each singled. After Andrew Olivero was plunked by a pitch, Tommy Gomez walked to force-in the tying run.

The Palm Harbor defensive squad was cruising through the second with a pair of strikeouts, when a walk and a Countryside player’s double, left runners at second and third. Quickly reacting to the next hit lined up the middle, second baseman Lucas Ryan went deep in the hole, snagged the ball across his body, planted, pivoted and fired a pee to 1st base, nabbing the inning-ending runner by a half-step and saving two runs off the board.

After getting walked, Phillies Michael Patella was replaced with pitch-runner Justin Ritt, A wild pitch and throwing error later, Ritt was on third with Boyle in the batters box. Gaining a free pass to first on four balls, he only momentarily slowed pace before rounding first and sprinting to second. As the pitcher’s arm was cocking, Ritt was breaking from third.

What transpired was the very-rarely invoked post-walk delayed double steal. Countryside nabbed Boyle at second base but was too late in relaying home to get Ritt.

Somewhere, Billy Martin was smiling.

After a scoreless top half, Phillies’ Olivero crushed a double to start the onslaught. After Gomez sacrificed him to third. Evan Kulyk pinch hit for Reggie Jackson, legging out a infield single for an RBI. Brennan Choate also had an infield hit, then pinch hitter Logan Kramer hit a screamer up the middle scoring Kulyk from second. Following Ritt’s swinging bunt to score Choate, Boyle crushed a screaming three-run Jimmy Jack that was still rising when it cleared the left-center fence. Phillies up 8-1 after the third.

Choate came into pitch the Palm Harbor 4th and had a very abbreviated game of toss with his catcher, striking out the side of 12 pitches. Lucas Ryan doubled and later scored the Phillies’ only run in the inning.

After allowing two runs in the 5th the Palm Harbor hit parade continued. Boyle doubled and stole third and home on wild pitches. Bailey chose the more conventional method by striking a thunderous home run that had parents worried about possible car damage in the parking lot. After an array of walks and singles Choate ended the game with a walk-off single that invoked the mercy rule with Palm Harbor ahead 13-3.

"It took a while for us to get the bats going", Phillies’ Assistant Coach Tony Gomez said. "But this Palm Harbor team is resilient, and we proved it again today."