After finishing third during the regular season with an 11-6 record, the third-seeded Phillies went on to capture this year’s Johnston Little League Town Championship. The ball club, sponsored by Joe & Son’s Service, rallied back several times throughout the playoffs, beginning with its semifinal series against the second-seeded Orioles. After dropping the first game of the best-of-three series, the Phillies defeated the three-time defending champs twice, clinching a trip to the finals with a 9-7 extra-inning victory.
In the title series, the Red Sox, who knocked off the top-seeded Diamondbacks in their semifinal matchup, edged the Phillies, 5-4, to take the lead. But the Phillies evened things up with a 4-3 victory in Game two. Trailing the Sox, 4-1, heading into the fourth inning of the deciding game, the Phillies again rallied from behind, holding the Red Sox scoreless the rest of the way, en route to a 14-4 decision.
“When All-Stars were over and I saw all these kids come back . . . usually you lose kids after All-Stars, whether it’s to vacations or football or just lack of interest,” said manager Dave LaVallee. “But these kids were e-mailing me, they were texting me, `When are we going to practice?’ They came back ready to play, and each and every kid played a major role on this team. Every game a different kid stepped up, whether it was with a bunt or a key hit or a key play in the field. It was fun to coach them. It was a total joy.”
In a great show of sportsmanship, the Phillies players invited the Red Sox to join them in their victory lap around Kennedy Field.
“Great team, great coaches,” LaVallee said of the Sox. “After the game, we took our own team picture, but we took pictures with them, as well, because they’re all friends. It was a lot of fun.”
Both teams will be recognized at the organization’s annual awards banquet, Thursday night at the West Valley Inn.
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