©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Hill “13s” baseball club makes Montco playoffs
by Edward Rodgers

The Chestnut Hill 13s: Kneeling left to right: Eric Primavera, Alex Deberardinis,Mike McNally, Mike Dwyer, Brendan Dwyer, Nick Barile, Dante Lammendola, Jake Yannessa. Standing L to R : Coach Ron Deberardinis, Coach Mike Primavera, Julian Canuso, John Carney, Matthew Primavera, Frank Primavera, Ben York, Greg Baird, Ben Rogers, Max Cavalli & Coach Dennis Primavera. Not shown: Coach Charlie Bradbury, Jake Bradbury, Mark Vallas, Brendan Hankowsky

For Chestnut Hill’s 13-yearr-olds, the transition from Chestnut Hill’s Junior baseball program to the Montco Baseball League is always difficult, and expectations were not high for the Chestnut Hill Youth Sports Club 13-year-old team. The boys had never played in a travel league, and this was their first year playing on a regulation-size field. So their 3-4 start was not surprising and, in mid-June, the playoffs seemed like a long shot.

But when the weather heated up in July, so did the Chestnut Hill 13s. In an amazing second-half turnaround, the team won nine of their last 11 games, including five of their last six games in a seven-day stretch to end the season, to finish tied for first place with Abington and Horsham with a 12-6 record.

Featuring the deepest pitching staff in the league, anchored by hard-throwing Montco League All-Stars Matthew and Frank Primavera, and supported by Eric Primavera, Montco League All-Star Ben Rogers, and Jake Yannessa, the Chestnut Hill 13s held their more experienced suburban opponents at bay in game after game.

Through the stretch run, the team also showed great improvement defensively, led by slick-fielding shortstop Yannessa and Mike McNally at 2nd base, sure-handed outfielders Nick Barile, Dante Lammendola and others, and solid leadership behind the plate by Max Cavalli. During their win streak, the 13s got timely hitting throughout the lineup, with many run-scoring extra-base hits by Matthew Primavera, Frank Primavera, Rogers and Ben York.

Highlights of the regular season include Eric Primavera’s two-hitter against Fox Rok to preserve a first place tie, John Carney’s two-out, two-strike, two-run single to cap a comeback over Roslyn, catcher Matthew Primavera throwing out four base-stealers against Horsham to seal a victory, and Ben York’s three-run home run over the fence (the only home run hit out of the Carson Valley field all year by a 13-year-old player) to break a 5-5 tie and beat Whitpain.

Led by head coach Dennis Primavera and assistants Michael Primavera, Charlie Bradbury, and Ron DeBerardinis, the Chestnut Hill 13s are now off to the Montco League playoffs, where they have high hopes of a strong finish.