Playoffs...Summary

So, we headed into the playoffs with a high-flying offense and some very consistent pitching that is definitely peaking at the right time. However, we had a few good teams in the way of getting to the championship game--and like the rest of the season, anyone can be beat in any given day. With our #2 seed, we came up against the Red Sox who we had split with during the season and had given us our worst loss of the year. However, our offense again started off strong and came up with 8 runs in the first two innings to take control. Though the Red Sox held us for much of the rest of the game, our pitching was consistent throughout and we moved on to championship Saturday with a 11-3 win. We were set to play against the Cubs, a team in which we had had two down-to-the-wire games in the regular season. We again struck early with a 5-run second inning. The Cubs closed to within 2 runs early in the fifth, but we broke it open in the bottom of the fifth as the bottom of our line-up were again able to get on base and we scored 4 runs to put it out of reach. Huge defensive plays stymied the Cubs' ability to get back in the game as outfielders caught fly balls and we had a key double play on a hard hit line-drive. The bottom of our line-up was again the key as they scored 8 of our 12 runs in a 12-6 win. So, for the second year in a row we play in the Championship Game. However, since the Dodgers, the hottest team in the league, took down the mighty Yankees in a hard fought game, we had a new opponent. The game started off with some good pitching and defense. Then, 19 runs were scored in two innings of play. With 6 lead changes and our 5-run 4th inninng with 4 consecutive hits followed by a 3-run Dodgers inning, we took a 1-run lead in the fifth. Then, like we have done the last several weeks, we executed great defense culminating with throwing the tying run out at the plate and at third base in steal attemps. It all came down to a situation we were eerily familiar with. Like a repeat from last year's championship game, our opponent had the game changing runner on third with two outs and two strikes, and, unlike last year, the game ended with a strike out and a 11-10 win. Phillies win the BCR 10s championship! A great game with a great ending. Though it was fun to win the championship, there were no losers that day as both teams played a great game and worked extremely hard to get to the last game. So, after two months of extremely hard work (we had too many practices), great focus (if only occassionally), and a lot of luck (we got our share of bad calls), we ended the season with a win. Who would have thought that a scrappy, high flying team (our running game scored more runs this year than our hitting game) would end the season 12-4-1. It is hard not to be very proud and excited for the boys, and, as the old cliche goes, "the whole was greater than the sum of its parts"...this year! Signing out for the year. Coach Paul