Stellar Season for All-Stars

The most challenging thing about coaching 12-year-old boys baseball is that the players are 12-years-old, said Coach Dow Hardy.

But it’s also the most fun, added the coach of the Marlborough Youth Baseball All-Stars 12-year-old A team.

Hardy coaches a group of boys he has seen grow for four years through the league, which offers competitive summer play for baseball players ages nine through 12. 

It has been "a blast seeing the boys develop as people,” he said.

Coaches of five of the league's all-star teams spoke with Patch this week about the boys' impressive summer season.

The 12-year-old team won the western Massachusetts State tournament and made it to the semi-finals of the regional tournament, only a few wins from national competitions.

One of their defining moments as a team came when they beat a tough Connecticut team that no one from Marlborough had beaten before. They are very humble about all they’ve accomplished, he said.

For the ‘B’ team of the 12-year-old division, a highlight came when the players got to host a team from Bermuda for a scrimmage, said Coach Rich Hathaway.

Hathaway said he taught his players about the importance of mental toughness and “staying in the game when you’ve made mistakes.”

Though they faced a lot, the ‘B’ team gets along well with each other, he said, adding that he can’t wait for the boys to begin playing the full game with a big diamond and a real rulebook when they graduate from the all-star teams.

With an overall record of 11 and 9 and a third place ranking in the Bay State League, the state tournament and several other regional tournament, the 11-year-old all-star team also had a “big year,” said coach Jason Stone.

“These are the best kids I’ve had in years,” Stone said, adding that he enjoyed watching the boys learn how to win and how to lose as a team.

One of the highlights of the season was the first-ever home runs hit by five of the players. Stone said his favorite thing is “seeing the kids have success” and they way their faces light up when they play well.

With the Marlborough and Milford invitational titles and a second place finish at the finals in Stoughton, the 10-year-olds of the all star league had many great moments, said coach Mark Federico.

One player got his first home run completely out of the park, Federico said.

From winning the state tournament to being able to "come together as a team without any real issues," the 9-year-old team, the league's youngest, had one of the most sucessful seasons among the All-Stars, said coach Don Carroll.

The team won first in the District Tournament, the Uxbridge Tournament, the Rockland Tournament and the Western Massachusetts State Tournament, Carroll said. They also took second in the Chelmsford tournament and the New England Regionals.