With a team comprised of 11 and 12 year-old all-stars from both McMackin and St. Mary’s baseball little leagues, Revere competed in the 2009 Saugus Invitational All-Star Tournament along with teams representing Saugus, Wakefield, Malden and Lynnfield. Led by head coach John Leone and assistant coaches Mark Scearbo and Anthony Palermo, Revere dominated and won all but one game and to advance to the final game of the series, sending shortstop Alec Costanza to the mound to face the Wakefield All Stars. Down early by a Wakefield two run homer, Revere quickly tied the score with home runs by St. Mary’s home run king Daniel Szymczak and McMackin’s hitting and pitching sensation, Ritchie DiMartino. Revere then took a 3-2 lead as first baseman Derek Aut alertly pitching nine strike outs and holding Wakefield to two runs in five and one-third innings. Alec Costanza reached the maximum pitch count allowed, sending infielder Max Anderson to the mound to close it. Performing as he had all series, Max pitched back to back strikeouts to seal the win and the All Star Tournament Championship for Revere; a championship won not by a few, but by a team in which every member was a major contributor.
Third baseman and lead off hitter Matt Costanza led the way with several extra-base hits and rbi’s; slugger and second baseman Tyler Scearbo led the tournament with 3 home runs; Zach Coles proved to be triple threat as a hitter, pitcher, and catcher Sabrina Palermo, one of St. Mary’s premier catchers, displayed her all around skills in the outfield and base paths as well; and Zach Moore proved once again to be the consummate thinking man’s ballplayer both on the field and behind the plate.
The series was not short of theatrics as Christine Stella, to the amazement of everyone, crushed the only grand slam home run of the tournament over the far right field fence. Nor was it short of heroics, as Joe Leone (coming on the field less than three weeks after an appendectomy) worked every position as a hitter, pitcher, catcher, and outfielder; and made an incredible catch in center field to rob a potential home run.
In short, the 2009 All-Star Champions proved to be Revere’s Little League Dream Team.
