Billed as a hit

Mark Donato, Jonathan McAllister and Kenny Koplove could be sitting in a cool, air-conditioned house playing NBA Live or Madden 2005 on a Sony PlayStation. Instead, the three friends and Philadelphia Senators teammates are sitting in the home dugout at Sunoco Field, 3501 Moore St., talking baseball.

When a team travels to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for the Amateur Athletic Union 13-and-under Nationals, PlayStation just doesn’t generate the same kind of excitement. The Senators finished 3-3 in the double-elimination tournament, which included wins over the Maryland Red Dogs, North Carolina-based Mooresville Racers and the Massachusetts-based South Shore Seadogs.

"It was good playing against the best teams in the country," said Donato, a first baseman and pitcher.

The Senators received an automatic bid by virtue of last season’s top-16 finish nationally and went on to join the 80 other teams in South Carolina. Despite missing the final 16, the players still found plenty of highlights.

Koplove, a shortstop, said McAllister pitched very well in the Senators 10-5 win over the Seadogs.

"The last couple innings we didn’t give [McAllister] a lot of help, but he pitched through it and did a great job," Koplove said.

The South Philly squad entered the contest facing a must-win situation after losing 7-3 to the New Hampshire Timbercats in the championship round opener. McAllister said he was up to the challenge.

"I knew we had to win that game to move on, so I knew I had to pitch my best," he said.

Though that one was a win, the Senators were ultimately eliminated in an 8-5 loss to the New Jersey-based Hunterdon Hitmen.

THE EVENT IS the culmination of a successful spring-summer season for the Senators. During that time, they finished with a 57-23 record, played in the New Jersey-based 14-and-under Del Val League and won a national tournament in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

Last summer, as a 12-and-under team, the Senators placed second in the United States Sports Specialty Association Majors World Series in North Carolina, resulting in national ranking.

Winning is just one aspect of what the Senators are all about. Coach Steve Koplove, Kenny’s father, organized the squad four years ago with a focus on the future.

"We want to get the kids to a point where they can play high-school baseball and a chance to play college baseball and possibly get drafted," the coach said. "Only time will tell if it happens."

Donato, an incoming eighth-grader at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, said playing for the Senators has helped him a lot.

"I feel like I am getting better every year and it’s preparing me for high school," he said.

Kenny Koplove will be a sixth-grader at Penn Charter and, at 4-foot-11, 80 pounds, the extra couple years of Senators’ play could be beneficial.

"I think it helps me getting used to playing older kids," the shortstop said. "When I get to the high-school level, I will probably be better than most of them."

The team’s profile is so intriguing players are coming from Radnor, Northeast Philly, Media, Cherry Hill, N.J., and Merion, as well as South Philadelphia, to join the Senators. Geography hasn’t had an impact on how the players treat each other.

"We do everything together," McAllister said. "When we do stuff, we make sure we include everybody in it."

John McAllister, who is Jonathan’s dad, said the camaraderie between the athletes is apparent.

"I think they treat each other like brothers and make each other better players," he said. "They do a lot to pick each other up."

Parents also play a big role, handling behind-the-scenes duties such as manicuring fields, working concession stands and serving as a home-game welcoming committee.

The Senators spend a lot of time on the road and are becoming well known around the country. Steve Koplove said at the AAU Nationals, coaches from other cities were approaching him about scheduling future games.

"That’s a good thing that people outside the area know who we are," he said.

No matter what teams appear on the Senators’ schedule, McAllister is confident his squad will be ready.

"The fact that we were in a national tournament is basically saying that we are good enough to play with anybody," he said.