The Rockies of the Howard Palmetto Khoury League won their final game last month, clinching first place in the second half of the Juvenile Division (ages 13-15) season.

They also won the first half of the competition, finishing the season with a combined record of 23-4, giving them the opportunity to represent Howard Palmetto as their No. 1 seed in the county tournament, currently in progress.

The Rockies’ star pitching was led by Bret Graves, who also played for the Palmetto High’s ninth grade team; Matthew Fisher, who demonstrated outstanding control as the team’s closer, and Justin Shopay, who also led the team in hitting.

Michael Fein at third base led the team in runs batted in, and the entire infield was a strong point for the team, with Jeremy Furman at second and Robert Bernal — also a Palmetto High ninth grade player —at shortstop.

The outfielders led by David Kramarz, Brian Halpern, Reid Conrad, and Xavier Montilla were solid, and helped win several games with clutch hitting.

For head coach Paul Fisher it was his second championship in three years. Fisher has coached in the Howard Palmetto Khoury League for the past 11 years.

"I’m very proud of all the boys on the team, not just because they showed great talents this year, but also because they demonstrated true teamwork," Fisher said. "The leadership from the older boys to the younger ones was outstanding. But we couldn’t have done it without the participation of our coaches and parents, who came to every game and gave us some extra enthusiasm. That really made all the difference."

Mark Kramarz, assistant head coach and third base coach, also has led several championship teams in the past few years at Howard Palmetto. Al Bernal was the pitching coach.

Tom Shopay, the batting practice and first base coach, was a great inspiration for the team because of his experience as a major league ball player for the Orioles and Yankees.

Debbie Conrad was the "Team Mother" and Margie Fein was the scorekeeper.