Hitting the road

Wearing her number 49 Philadelphia Wizards jersey, Shara Borelli steps to the plate. Her dad Mike delivers a soft toss from the pitcher’s mound, and the 14-year-old slaps it right up the middle.

"I don’t hit slow pitches," said the pitcher-first baseman.

Hey, esven the best players know there’s room to improve. In the meantime, Borelli’s fast swing is taking her places, namely to the National Softball Association World Series. Tomorrow, the resident of the 2700 block of Colorado Street will head to Columbus, Ohio, with her Northeast Philly-based Wizards. The squad will compete against the nation’s best 14-year-olds.

Borelli, the Wizards’ lone South Philadelphia representative, is confident about her team’s chances.

"We have a really good shot of winning and doing really well," she said Monday.

The cleanup hitter is batting .424 with a .455 on-base percentage. On the mound, Borelli has 12 of the team’s 33 wins, including two no-hitters.

It’s pretty ironic, then, that Wizards coach Joe Cipolloni didn’t have Borelli penciled in the starting rotation when he formed the team in August.

"She worked hard during the off-season," the coach explained. "She has a nice mix of pitches and paints the corners, which is big."

Borelli, who will be a sophomore at Hallahan High in September, consistently thrives against top-notch competition.

In her freshman season at Hallahan, the Third Team All-Catholic selection made an immediate impact with seven wins. And at the PONY (Protecting Our Nation’s Youth) state championship tournament in June, Borelli picked up a 3-2 win for the Wizards in the semifinals and delivered three shutout innings in the championship game before turning the ball over to Erin "Big E" Gallagher.

The Wizards’ roster draws players from different sections of the city as well as South Jersey.

Borelli previously played with most of her teammates on the Northeast Philadelphia-based Philly Flash travel team. The softball veteran left the squad to play in city leagues. There, she excelled once again, earning a spot in a city all-star game at Veterans Stadium last summer.

With aspirations of playing Division I college softball, Borelli knows she has to work hard now.

"I am not quitting tournament ball, because it made me who I am today," said the athlete, who said she wants to attend a college close to home.

For now, Borelli and her Wizards teammates are benefiting from an experienced coaching staff.

Former St. Maria Goretti softball coach Joe Cusella handles the pitching, and Cipolloni’s brother — a former Phillies prospect also named Joe Cipolloni — and Larry Robtison are the hitting coaches.

Playing with the Wizards requires a year-round commitment from the players and their parents. In the fall, the team held two practices a week and played in two tournaments. The squad hit the ball two days a week throughout the winter. In January, the girls started preparing for the spring-summer season by holding weekly three-hour practices. The results are now showing with a 33-14 record heading into nationals.

Mike Borelli acknowledged that commuting to the Wizards’ Northeast Philly field and traveling to tournaments can take its toll, but he is more than willing to make the sacrifices for his daughter.

"It’s worth it because I see how good she has gotten," he said.

The dad noted that the team has helped his daughter with more than softball. "She has more confidence now than ever," he said.

Borelli enjoyed a major morale boost in a tournament last weekend when she smacked a homer over the fence.

"It didn’t look like I hit it that far," she said of the ball that traveled about 220 feet.

Head coach Joe Cipolloni, on the other hand, had no doubts.

"I knew it was gone as soon as she hit it," the coach said. "She has so much power, it’s unbelievable."

This weekend, Borelli hopes to use that power to help the Wizards knock off some of the nation’s top teams. The NSA World Series festivities kick off Saturday night with fireworks, and the teams will open tournament play Sunday.

Playing in the national spotlight might seem overwhelming, but Borelli said she and her team are ready for the challenge.

"It’s easier to pitch, especially when you have a good team behind you because you know they don’t make mistakes," she said.