Little League: Phillies Planked by Pirates

In the semi-finals of the District 12 Lou Caprara Major Baseball Championship Tournament May 25, Phillies’ lead off hitter Anthony Boyle homered on the first pitch of the first inning. Unfortunately for Palm Harbor, they wouldn’t score again until the 76^thpitch of the game when Evan Kulyk doubled in Kyle Bailey.

In between that time span, their opponent the East Lake Pirates, hung up six runs and added two more to defeat the Phillies 8-2, ending their season a game short of the championship.

The loss comes after a raucous run through the round robin where they outscored their first two opponents 23 – 5 and needed extra innings to beat Largo. Andrew Olivero scored the game-extending run in the 6^th with Lucas Ryan singling him home, and then scored the game winning run in the 8^th thanks to Kulyk’s walk-off single.

The effort was no surprise to Phillies head coach Steve Kulyk. "The thing I learned most about the season was how resilient the team could be," he said. "The kids never gave up and kept trying until the very last out."

The Phillies entered the playoffs after a 15-3 regular season record with highlights in the batters box and on the mound.

Lead off hitter Anthony Boyle batted .691 with five home runs, seven total including the tournament of champions. Kulyk wasn’t far behind batting .636 with Kyle Bailey hitting .578 including six home runs, eight total including the tournament of champions.

Bailey and Kulyk were the main pitchers during the regular season, highlighted by combining for an 11-0, 4-inning, no-hit shutout.

When tendinitis knocked Kulyk permanently off the mound late in the regular season, the remaining games became pitching by committee.

"Brennan Choate came in a lot for relief pitching and was outstanding," the coach said. "And Kyle was dominant to close the games."

"The kids always hung in there and never stopped trying. I am so proud of all of them, Kulyk concluded. "They accomplished a great deal this year!"