After back-to-back third place finishes in the Tournament of State Champions, Plant City Little League’s 9-10-11 Baseball All-Stars wanted to prove they can do better. Next weekend, the boys will get their chance.
This 9-10-11 team, which played in the 9-10 division in 2015 and 2016, punched its ticket to Greenville, North Carolina, after winning the state championship on July 16. It has one goal in mind: to take Plant City back to the top of the tournament.
This season, the team’s depth is its greatest asset. Manager Mike Palestrini says the boys are fundamentally solid enough to step up in nearly any situation and help the team.
“This year, more so than any other year I’ve been a part of the league, we’ve had everybody contribute in big ways,” he says.
One example of this came in the team’s second pool play game, held July 15 at DeLand Little League. Following a 15-0 win over Niceville one day earlier, Plant City found itself facing a tough Plantation team. Mike Palestrini called on shortstop Deven Gonzalez — who is not a regular pitcher — to take the mound. Gonzalez pitched just over five innings and helped Plant City pick up a 6-5 win.
It also allowed pitcher Adan Longoria to start in what proved to be the team’s toughest matchup on paper of the weekend. Plant City took on a Keystone team which, according to coaches, had outscored opponents 38-1 in its first two games. With that kind of firepower matching up with Plant City’s own hot bats, it was expected to be a high-scoring game.
Instead, Plant City scored twice in the third inning and Longoria never lost control in a 2-0 outcome.
In the July 16 championship final, Plant City’s offense woke up in a big way en route to an 11-1 win over Sarasota American. Eight of the runs were driven in by Longoria and Anthony Palestrini, who each hit a grand slam.
The boys are now focused on keeping their hot streak alive in Greenville.
Plant City — soon to be known as “Florida” — will begin play July 29 against a familiar foe. The boys haven’t been able to beat Virginia in Greenville and they’d like to take that day to make up for last year’s game, a 15-1 loss.
“I think we have a better shot at beating them this year because our team has a lot of experience,” Anthony Palestrini says. “Our pitching is really deep and our hitting has started to turn on through sectionals and states.”
They hope getting over that hump would lead to them finishing higher than third. With two years of experience to draw from, the team knows what it needs to do this time.
“We know we were close,” Mike Palestrini says. “We think if we can just shore things up a little bit better … we think we have a good chance this year.”