Allentown, PA — By Kyle Craig | For lehighvalleylive.com Coca-Cola Park will get a new name in 2027. Photos By Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com That news might not sit well with Phillipsburg High School’s baseball team, which wouldn’t change a thing about the Allentown venue – especially how the Stateliners play there. “Oh, it’s amazing,” Phillipsburg senior Kevin Buonocore said. “This is the best experience. Every year, this is my favorite thing to do. There’s nothing like it.” The Stateliners, ranked No. 10 by lehighvalleylive.com, defeated Easton 15-6 on Friday night. Phillipsburg has now won three straight against its archrival, with all three of those contests at Coca-Cola Park. Prior to its current streak, Phillipsburg hadn’t beaten Easton since 2016. “It means a lot. What we’ve done the past couple years, we’re really proud of in general – not only this game but the program as a whole,” Stateliners coach Mike Ciavarella said. “This game is, obviously, very important to us. It’s a game you circle every year. It’s important to our community. The community shows out, and we want to win for them. To have a long streak of not winning and then come back and create a streak of our own is really special. I hope we can keep it going as long as possible.” Phillipsburg (8-5) immediately took the lead with a three-run top of the first inning and never trailed. Senior Mike Bracco led off the contest with a single; senior Chase Pasmore was hit by a pitch; and Wyatt Garrison, another senior, walked to load the bases. Buonocore posted the game’s first run with an RBI walk. Sophomore Brent Ott dropped a single into right field to plate two more. “It’s a really emotional game. Sometimes, it can get the best of you,” Ciavarella said. “For some reason, we act a little crazy out here, but we also play really well. It’s a big moment, and they don’t run from the big moments. They come to play in the big moments, so I’m proud of them for that.” Easton (7-10) answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. Senior Cole Ordway cracked a base hit that ricocheted off a leaping second baseman. Senior Chase Shollenberger laced another single that took off the glove of Phillipsburg starter Nick Yaccarino. Kurtis Crossman plated his two classmates by lining a hit through the infield. Phillipsburg started the fourth inning with a pair of walks. Yaccarino turned those free passes into runs with a single into center field, making the score 5-2. “We really hit the ball well,” said Buonocore, Phillipsburg’s first baseman. “One though nine, everyone was hitting it. Everyone had good approaches at the plate, and everyone did their job.” Easton sophomore Max Suffness got a run back in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI knock that scored fellow sophomore Zack Martenis, who’d singled. Phillipsburg, however, broke the game wide open by registering nine runs in the top of the fifth. Thirteen Stateliners came to the plate as Phillipsburg cranked seven hits. Senior Andres Lora sprinted for an RBI triple; Buonocore smacked an RBI double; and Ott, Bracco, Pasmore and Garrison each added run-scoring singles. Yaccarino coaxed a bases-loaded walk and another run scored on an error during the offensive surge that pushed the lead to 14-3. “I thought they had some good arms to start the game in Shollenberger and (Nolan) Stem,” Ciavarella said. “Our approach was that we were going to get a pitch that we could hit, wait them out, make them make mistakes, and we didn’t miss when they did make mistakes. We were finding gaps; we were hitting line drives; and that was the game plan – they executed it.” “That was one of the best games we’ve had all year,” added Bracco, who plays center field. “If we can keep continuing this, we’ve got a lot of good things coming for us.” To Easton’s credit, it avoided the mercy rule twice. In the bottom of the fifth, Crossman powered a run-scoring triple to right field and then popped up and ran home after a P’burg error. The rivals traded RBI groundouts in the sixth inning. “It’s always a big ballgame here and a lot of emotion. You’ve got to put all three facets of the game together and, at times, we weren’t able to do that,” Easton coach Carm LaDuca said. “I thought we could have been a little more aggressive defensively in a couple of spots to make some plays. Ultimately, our kids kept fighting.” Yaccarino, P’burg’s fiery right-hander, pitched 5.2 innings, working around a walk and nine hits while allowing six runs (three earned) and striking out four. The senior earned a rivalry win on the mound for the second straight year. “This (rivalry game) does bring out a lot in him, but he knows how to handle it, doing it for two years now,” Ciavarella said. “He knows how to kind of settle down and control himself when he needs to.” Garrison tossed 1.1 innings of spotless relief. Bracco, Pasmore, Garrison, Buonocore and Ott each had a pair of hits for Phillipsburg. “It’s huge. It’s a great feeling to win one after the other,” Buonocore said. “We don’t want to let that trophy go over there. We want to keep it on our side.” Coincidentally, both teams will face the same opponent on Saturday. Easton hosts Warren Hills at 11 a.m. The Red Rovers are celebrating senior day and the final contest at Charles Richards Field with festivities that begin at 10 a.m. Easton’s 2016 District 11 Class 4A championship team will be honored, too. The Rovers will be on the road against Nazareth and Bethlehem Catholic on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Easton needs to win one of those contests to secure a district playoff berth by virtue of a .500 record in conference play. “While this wasn’t the best result tonight, we believe in the kids in that locker room,” LaDuca said. “I think they’ll come to play.” Phillipsburg will also host Warren Hills for a Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex second-round contest at 2 p.m. Saturday. “This gives us a lot of momentum, especially if we win tomorrow,” Bracco said. “We’ve got to come out tomorrow and have a good day.”