Eastern Phantoms made the most of their time representing Australia at the 2024 Senior League World Series in Easley, South Carolina.
The charter group made up of the Morley Eagles, Perth and UWA Magpies Baseball Clubs earned their ticket to the USA after winning at state and national championships earlier this year.
Phantoms went undefeated at the Australian Senior League Championship but were up for a challenge facing the best U17 teams in the world. Despite dropping their first game against Latin America (Venezuela) 10- 0, they never gave up, surviving the knockout phase with a 5-3 win over the Caribbean (Aruba) and a 5-2 victory vs Europe-Africa (Czechia).
Although their journey eventually ended in the quarterfinals with a 7-4 defeat to Canada (Quebec), the Phantoms have so much to be proud of and so much to look forward to.
Some of these players have won six straight WA State Titles together, and many represented Australia a couple of years ago at the Junior League World Series in Taylor, Michigan. They’re great mates, having played together since Little League, and playing on the global stage was the icing on the cake after an amazing junior baseball journey.
“Winning the two games was awesome. It exceeded my expectations based on our results in Taylor,” Tyson Edwards said. “I’m going to miss travelling with the boys. It is such a close group of guys and so much fun.”
The tight-knit group made amazing memories, from high-energy games to team bonding activities.
“The biggest highlight for me was beating Czechia with the must-win nature of the game,” Tom Williams said.
Dylan Palethorpe agrees: “The best part was beating Czechia this time round after being eliminated by them at the JLWS.”
“The friendships developed with the other International and US teams in the hotel was another highlight,” Luke Del Borello said.
The tournament trip offered incredible off-field experiences, too. Tex Prisov will never forget going to his first MLB game at Truist Park, home of Atlanta Braves.
“The size of the stadium and crowd noise exceeded my expectations,” Tex recalled. “On-field, I’m most proud of long-term Morley teammate Zai Gordon’s pitching performance vs Aruba.”
“I liked walking around the Georgia Tech and Clemson College campuses and seeing the facilities,” Cooper Murphy added.
With state and national titles and a strong World Series showing now under their belts, the Phantoms are ready for whatever comes next.
“I hope the players take away that they are competitive against anyone they play against at a World Series,” assistant coach Jeremy Franklin said. “It’s all about belief in themselves and their teammates.”
Watching their progress throughout the week was something truly special.
“Essentially, a team selected from four Saturday Senior League teams was competitive on an international level and came real close to playing in the international championship game,” assistant coach Jason Manning said.
Head Coach Daniel Calverley says there were many highlights, including two home runs for Tom Williams and impressive pitching by Dylan Palethorpe and Zai Gordon.
“I am most proud of the way the boys represented their families, their clubs and Baseball WA on an international stage. Most pleasing of all was the boys’ commitment to their teammates,” Calverley explained. “Our success was team success, not individual. They believed and trusted their teammates to get the job done with no complaints.”
While there’s always room to improve, such as with defensive walks and strikeouts, the boys can feel good knowing they reached so many goals and had the time of their lives playing baseball in the biggest event for their age group.
“It is a really special group that I will miss,” Calverley said. “They were competitive on the field, respectful off the field. We received so many complimentary comments from complete strangers who didn’t need to but chose to pay the boys a compliment.”
You can read all the Senior League recaps HERE and check out the Eastern Phantoms on Facebook for photos, videos, and more.