PHILADELPHIA — Most Little League teams don't look like Alex Rice's.

Only one of his Taney players at Tuesday night's practice appeared to have lurched ahead on the developmental bell curve. The rest shouted and teased in uncracked voices that sprang out from faces yet to struggle with acne.

And of the 12 players on the Taney roster, Rice said, five are black, four are interracial and three are white. The starting pitcher and leadoff hitter, Mo'ne Davis, is a girl.

"I couldn't think of a team that was more reflective of the area, of the environment which is Philadelphia, than this team right here," assistant coach Reggie Cummings said. "More importantly, they work together, so when we talk about brotherly love and all that, that's the epitome of this team."

It's the first from urban Philadelphia to win the Pennsylvania state Little League title, which has been contested since 1948. The players hailing from Center City, West and North Philadelphia almost don't understand the gravity of their accomplishment or why it matters beyond the fact that they'll have an extended sleepover with some of their best friends.

Starting Thursday night, they'll bunk in at the dorms of the Bart Giamatti Little League Leadership Training Center in Bristol, Conn. With one foot firmly in childhood and the other in whatever comes afterward, Rice's 12- and 13-year-old players will begin Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament play Saturday vs. West Salisbury (Md.) at 11 a.m.

They stun Rice with their analysis of opponents' pitching patterns and keep him smiling with their jokes. They play with each other more than they play for any title. But with their own smiles, they also carry a collective chip on their shoulders.

"City kids can't ..." the refrain gets shouted among the Taney players at practice. They're laughing when they say it, but they've heard it said seriously. The sentence often finishes with "hit," or "play."

"It just kind of gets around. Word gets around. We're not really sure where or when it started," Taney outfielder, third baseman and pitcher Carter Davis said. "... I think we try to put it out as much as we can, but it's still there to give us a little extra motivation."

City traffic delayed Rice's arrival before Tuesday's practice. The last two of the eight players who made the 6 p.m. practice didn't arrive until 6:25. As one of only two teams in urban Philadelphia, players' parents manage a carpool that spans much of the city.

"To get a quarter of a mile in the city can end up taking a long time," Rice said.

Mid-batting practice Tuesday, Eli Simon's father, Bryant, told Joe Richardson he was coming back to the Bryants' after practice. The Richardsons were celebrating their 20th anniversary.

The rides to and from practices only further bond the players and friends. It's a 12-player circle that's recently come under attack from defeated opponents.

After beating Collier Township for the Pennsylvania title on Sunday, Richardson said he and some teammates read Instagram posts from opponents accusing Taney of cheating.

"And they said that the only reason they're still letting us go to Bristol is that three-fourths of our team is black and that we have a girl on our team," Richardson said. "Even though I find that kind of ironic because we came from behind. They were up 4-0 and we came from behind and won the game."

The Taney players prefer to comfort each other after dropped fly balls and otherwise enjoy the company of their best friends on a baseball field than contemplate why resentment follows their success. Besides, they have a city to represent.

Tuesday's was Taney's last practice in Philadelphia before the team checks into the Mid-Atlantic tournament on Thursday. And as Rice wrapped up a practice in which one catcher went on strike and his replacement danced a circle around home plate after catching a Kai Cummings splitter, the manager told his players that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's office had them a chance to meet and take pictures with the mayor.

Said Rice, crouched in a huddle with his players: "I told them we'd do it when we get home from Williamsport."