11 and Under Pirates Had Strong Season

Chris Palmiero Skip Palmiero Skip Pearlman The Patterson Pirates 11 and Under Gold baseball team, which also competed in the Williamsport Tournament, experienced another successful season one year after winning the WPBA championship.

The team finished the WPBA season with a record of 17-4 after winning a few playoff games. The team also won its district in the Williamsport Tournament.

Coach Dan Wilson was happy with how his players performed, pointing out that he has coached most of them since they were nine years old and plans to do so again next season. These youngsters will also take part in the Cooperstown Dreams Tournament, which takes place every summer in Cooperstown, N.Y., which is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Wilson pointed out that the success that his teams experienced this season was because it had just a few players who did the job. Instead, everybody on the 12 man roster contributed in one way or another.

Kyle Shilling Skip Pearlman "All 12 kids at some point made significant contributions," Wilson said.

Because of that, Wilson mentioned quite a few players who he thought helped the team succeed this season.

One was Chris Palmiero, who Wilson considers to be his top player thanks to his excellent pitching and explosive bat. It seemed like the youngster hit a homerun every game and had a stellar pitching performance each time he took the mound.

"We do not lose when he is pitching, and he is always hitting," said Wilson.

Brian Harlin, another one of the team's pitchers who is also good with the bat, might not be the biggest player on the team, but Wilson said he makes up for that with his heart and nerves of steel.

"He is not the biggest kid on the team but he has more guts than any of the others. He is a gutsy kid," Wilson noted, adding that Harlan is the type of player who wants to be at the plate or Skip Pearlman on the mound during an important moment in the game.

Pirates walk off after win over Kent during season. Wilson also credited Ryan Frey with having a strong season. Besides being one of the team's top pitchers, he was also one of its best hitters despite not being able to hit a homerun this year.

"He could not get one over the fence, but he put a lot of dents in the fence," Wilson commented.

Kyle Shilling, the son of Carmel High School baseball coach Bob Shilling, also had a great season on the mound and with the bat in his hand. Wilson noted that the young player is a great contact hitter and always come through in important situations. "He is just a clutch kid," said Wilson.

Leadoff hitter Tim Catalano did a great job of getting on base and setting things up for the offense.

Evan Sinitsy Skip Pearlman "The kid has phenomenal speed. He plays small ball and has surprising power," Wilson said.

The coach noted that Mike McCormack, who hit his first homerun this season, was the team's most improved hitter. "We hope he keeps improving," said Wilson.

Although he was happy with how both the gold and Williamsport teams performed this season, there are some things that Wilson would like to see his players improve on for next season. One of them is getting the pitchers to get themselves into better counts and stay ahead of the hitters more often.

Wilson hopes that his players will work on the things that they need to improve on over the off season so that they will be better next season.

"We told them that they should learn some lessons from the few losses we had. There is a need for constant improvement," Wilson said.

While most coaches would like it if their players only concentrated on baseball during the off season, Wilson knows that is not likely since many of his players participate in other sports, which is something that he encourages because it keeps them in shape.

"They stay active and they stay competitive. We like that they are just active kids and that they compete," Wilson said.

The team, will be play in the Williamsport Tournament again next season, is one that Wilson has high expectations for in 2011.

"We are certainly excited that we can be back (as district champions in the Williamsport Tournament). We are excited about this group of kids," Wilson said.