2005 TOYS FOR TOTS TOURNAMENT
American Wood Bat League All-Stars (AWBL) @ Lancaster Phillies
Sunday, December 5th, 2005 @ 6:00pm / Stengel Field
No ..... the Phillies weren't drinking French champagne, strolling through the Champs-Elys'ees or ascending the Eiffel Tower. They didn't need to go any further than Glendale, where their ace pitcher, Matt Parris, pitched a complete game to lead them to victory in the PCBL Toys for Tots Championship against the defending champion AWBL All-Stars.
Parris registered 7 strikeouts in his complete game 12-8 victory, though it can be said that AWBL did manage to get 15 hits in their attempt to repeat as Toys for Tots Champs. However, one big offensive inning for the Phillies proved to be the difference.
The Phillies came up in the bottom of the 3rd inning trailing 4-1 and responded with 6 hits and sent 13 men to the plate, scoring a whopping 10 runs in the inning! Though they could only summons up 1 more run in the game, their 12 run total would hold up against an AWBL team that chipped away, but just couldn't make up enough ground to catch the Phillies after breaking out with those 10 runs earlier in the contest.
Credit has to be given to the relief pitching for the AWBL All-Stars, who gave up only 1 run in 6 complete innings to shut the Phillies down offensively once the dreaded 3rd inning had passed. The All-Stars picked away on offense but the production was gradual; scoring 3 runs in the 1st inning, 1 in the 3rd, and a pair in the 7th and 8th innings to round out their offense.
On the other side of the coin, there was the Phillies offensive explosion in the 3rd. In a nutshell, the Phillies start the inning with the top of their order who gets on by way of an error. The next batter walks and the following batter strikes out. With 2 on and 1 out, Javik Mahon triples to score a pair. He is followed by Justin Collins (AKA J.C.) who walks, bringing up Chase Dominguez who hits an RBI single. The next batter gets on due to an error and the next batter singles home a run. The next batter grounds out, bringing up the top of the lineup (Stu Sellz) who is hit by a pitch. This brings up Slimak who hits a 2-run double. Then, with 1 on and 2 out, Dave Stevenson comes up and promptly hits a 2-run homer. The Phillies get 10 runs on 5 hits in the bottom of the 3rd and suddenly the defending champion All-Stars had their work cut out for them. They would chip away at the lead, but would never really put together enough to be a threat after that.
