The plans were made, and the date was set. Twenty-five years after winning the league's only state championship in the major baseball division, the players and coaches of the 1978 Naamans Little League (Wilmington, Delaware) all-star team looked forward to gathering for a reunion. Everyone from star pitcher Howard Zebley to manager Joe Mascelli planned to attend the festivities on August 24.

Then Mascelli ran into a last-minute scheduling conflict that the others were most happy to accomodate: the thirty-six year coaching veteran was still coaching in the Naamans league, and again managing the all-star team. And something that no one had considered when choosing the reunion date had occurred.

Mascelli's 2003 Naamans all-star team was headed to the Little League World Series.

Fueled by four home runs and a steady performance from pitcher Scott Dougherty, Naamans pulled away in the late innings and defeated Lower Perkiomen Little League (Collegeville, Pennsylvania) 7-3 in the Mid-Atlantic Region championship game at the A. Bartlett Giamanti Little League Leadership Training Center in Bristol, Connecticut.

The win was Naamans' thirteenth victory in fourteen tournament games, and avenged the team's only defeat.

"It's extremely exciting, especially for the kids," said Mascelli, whose involvement with the Naamans program stretches back to 1958, when he played during the league's second season.

"It's really tough to judge your team until you see the competition," he said. "We knew we had some power on this team, but you don't know until you play against faster pitching. When the speed picked up, we hit."

Naamans hit 24 home runs in fourteen tournament games, with twelve coming in the teams' six games at the Mid-Atlantic tournament. Equally important, Naamans allowed only thirteen runs at Bristol, and never committed more than one error in a game.

"It's a pretty simple game when you get good pitching, big hits, and play tight defense," said Mascelli after a 12-2 semifinal round win over Ramapo Little League (New York) propelled his team into the title game.

The big hits helped Naamans overcome an early 2-0 deficit in the championship game. Lower Perkiomen took the early lead on Ryan Deitrich's two-run homer in the second inning, but the bottom of Naamans' batting order manufactured a run in the third when eleven-year-old Kevin Czachorowski doubled and eventually scored on Tim Marcin's groundout. Lead-off hitter David Mastro then sent the first of his two home runs over the center field fence to tie the game.

Mastro's homer opened the floodgates as Naamans adjusted to the distinctive pitching motion of Lower Perkiomen's starting pitcher. Coach Bob Waters, a 21-year coaching veteran at Naamans, had simulated the delivery in batting practice earlier in the day, and after the first time through the batting order, Naamans' offense became more potent.

Danny Frate led off with fourth inning with a home run to give the Delaware champions the lead for good. Naamans then added three more in the fifth, scoring twice on wild pitches after singles by Vince Russomagno and Dougherty. Kip Skibicki capped the inning with a solo home run.

Mastro added his second homer of the game in the sixth.

"This was anyone's game until we had that little big inning there (in the fifth) to make you feel a little more comfortable," said Mascelli.

Dougherty steadied on the mound after the early home run. The right-hander struck out eight, and allowed only one hit from the third through the fifth inning, when the Naamans offense turned the two-run deficit into a four-run lead. Dougherty finished the tournament with a pair of wins and 26 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched.

Mastro also won a pair of games, including the semifinal round meeting with Ramapo. Naamans held a 2-1 lead after four innings before breaking through against an injury-ravaged New York pitching staff. Dougherty and Frate keyed a six-run fifth inning with two-run homers, while Russomagno led off the sixth with a home run before Czachorowski added a two-run double.

"It's a shame what happened to our pitchers," said Ramapo manager Tom Durkin, whose starting pitcher against Naamans developed a sore arm and departed after three innings. Ramapo's top pitcher was also sidelined for much of the tournament by back and shoulder injuries.

"But the better team did win today," he added.

Naamans also defeated Ramapo in their pool opener, scoring three times in the first inning and holding on for a 5-2 victory. Dougherty struck out ten and held the New Yorkers to six hits in the win. Two days later, Mastro threw a four-hitter and Michael Julien -- one of six eleven-year-olds on the Delaware roster -- scored on a passed ball to lift Naamans past West Salisbury Little League (Maryland) 2-1.

Naamans clinched a semifinal round berth despite dropping their next pool game to Lower Perkiomen, and closed pool competition with Skibicki's five inning no-hitter in a 12-1 win over Capitol City Little League (District of Columbia).

Naamans earned the second seed with their 3-1 pool record.

"Just to get here (Bristol) was tough, and the competition was much better," said Mascelli as his team prepared for the semifinal round encounter with Ramapo. "For us to go 3-1 is a bonus."

Lower Perkiomen, the top seed after pool competition, won a pair of games in extra innings and a third game with a rally in the bottom of the sixth inning.

"There's plenty of fight in these kids," said manager Mike Ricci.

Lower Perkiomen fought back again in the semifinal round, erasing an deficit with three runs in the fourth inning to overcome West Salisbury 3-1. Nick Sun's two-run single scored Todd Rubendall and Mike Lubanski to put the Pennsylvania champions in front. Pitcher Tim Cooney allowed Chris Waters' first inning RBI single, then scattered four hits over five shutout innings the rest of the way.

"(We're) used to being behind in a game," said Ricci after his team's latest comeback. Lower Perkiomen had claimed the Pennsylvania state tournament with five consecutive wins following an opening round loss.

"I had no doubt, even though Maryland gave us a fight, that we would come back to win the game," he added.

Lower Perkiomen started out strong in the championship game, but Naamans' power surge left the Pennsylvanians with too much ground to make up. Dougherty stemmed Lower Perkiomen's patented last-ditch rally in the sixth by inducing a 6-4-3 double play. Christian Walker managed a run-scoring double, but Dougherty induced a comebacker to clinch the win and force his predecessors at Naamans to postpone their reunion by a month.

"When we started this thing, we weren't looking that far ahead," said Mascelli.

"These guys tell me they want to have their reunion in ten years," laughed the longtime Naamans volunteer. "They want to wait until they're 21 so they can to to Stanley's (restaurant and tavern), but they don't want to wait 25 because they think I'll be dead by then."

"We have a young team," chided Dougherty, making sure Mascelli could hear his remarks, "with old coaches."

"I always said I'd do it until I got it right," said Mascelli, who planned to continue coaching beyond 2003. "Maybe now I'm just starting to get it right."

At the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Naamans finished third in its pool with a 1-2 record.

Linescores:

Pool Play Game 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		R	H	E
Capitol City (D.C.)	0	0	0	0	0	0				0	4	1
West Salisbury (Maryland)	1	0	0	0	0	x				1	5	3
Pool Play Game 2
Naamans (Delaware)	3	0	0	0	2	0				5	7	1
Ramapo (New York)	1	1	0	0	0	0				2	4	3
Pool Play Game 3
Capitol City (D.C.)	0	0	0	0						0	3	0
Freehold Township American (New Jersey)	0	3	6	1						10	8	0
Pool Play Game 4
Ramapo (New York)	0	0	0	0						0	3	2
Lower Perkiomen (Pennsylvania)	3	0	2	5						10	12	0
Pool Play Game 5
Naamans (Delaware)	0	0	1	0	0	1				2	5	1
West Salisbury (Maryland)	1	0	0	0	0	0				1	4	1
Pool Play Game 6
Freehold Township (New Jersey)	1	0	1	5	1	0	1			9	9	4
Lower Perkiomen (Pennsylvania)	6	1	0	0	0	1	2			10	8	3
Pool Play Game 7
Naamans (Delaware)	0	0	2	1	0	0				3	4	1
Lower Perkiomen (Pennsylvania)	1	1	1	0	0	1				4	9	0
Pool Play Game 8
Ramapo (New York)	0	1	0	0	0	1				2	4	0
Capitol City (D.C.)	0	0	0	1	0	0				1	2	1
Pool Play Game 9
West Salisbury (Maryland)	0	0	0	0	0	6				6	9	0
Freehold Township American (New Jersey)	1	0	1	1	0	0				3	6	1
Pool Play Game 10
Naamans (Delaware)	3	3	0	2	4					12	10	1
Capitol City (D.C.)	0	0	0	1	0					1	0	3
Pool Play Game 11
Lower Perkiomen (Pennsylvania)	0	0	1	1	7	1	0	9		19	13	3
West Salisbury (Maryland)	2	0	6	0	0	2	0	0		10	9	3
Pool Play Game 12
Freehold Township (New Jersey)	1	0	0	1	0	0				2	6	0
Ramapo (New York)	0	1	0	1	1	x				3	6	2
Semifinal Round
Naamans (Delaware)	0	1	0	1	6	4				12	12	1
Ramapo (New York)	0	0	1	0	0	1				2	5	1
Semifinal Round
West Salisbury (Maryland)	1	0	0	0	0	0				1	7	3
Lower Perkiomen (Pennsylvania)	0	0	0	3	0	x				3	3	0
Championship Game
Naamans (Delaware)	0	0	2	1	3	1				7	9	1
Lower Perkiomen (Pennsylvania)	0	2	0	0	0	1				3	6	0

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