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Tournaments | Story | 7/13/2023

Wesley Chapel Storm 2026 Emphasizing Effort

Riley Sheppard

There are only a handful of things in players control on the baseball field. From inclement weather, to the inevitable blunder, there’s a reason failure is synonymous with America’s Pastime.

But for Wesley Chapel Storm 2026, outhustling its opponent has become an embodiment of playing for the organization.

“We’re not gonna out-power anybody,” head coach Dylan Harris said. “We’re not gonna hit home runs, we’re gonna have guys who are gonna outplay the other team. That’s our motto as a team is we’re gonna go out there and dominate every play, outplay everybody, take the extra base, we’re gonna make the aggressive mistakes. I tell them all the time, I don’t care about mistakes as long as they’re aggressive.”

And that mantra was on full display in its 2-0 victory over TBT AS4, led by dominant pitching and extra effort defensive plays.

Right-handed pitcher Nick Schwartz received the start for Storm, tossing five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four before Ayden Romano came on for relief.

“They just had confidence,” Harris said. “They went out there with confidence, they trusted the guys behind them, and they trusted their defense. Just about every guy in there played in effect, regardless if they started the game or not, everybody had a role in this game and they went out there and dictated it like that.”

Behind a combined two-hit shutout from its pitching staff, Ryan Simmons notched Storms’ first run of the game with a groundout to drive in Maikol Madueno in the second, and four innings later, Bodie Benortham brought Gavyn Mullis in for extra insurance.

With a 20-6-1 record on the year, Storm enters this year’s BCS coming off the heels of several deep tournament runs - including a 15U City of Palms Championship game appearance last month. However, seeing each player continue to improve comes first and foremost - starting with those extra effort plays.

“It’s really good seeing the progress of the team,” Harris said. “We got a bunch of local guys within the same area and they fight hard together, so it’s not like we’re flying in guys, we’re playing within our area. If we get the opportunity to make it that far that's great, but at the end of the day I want them to progress as players.”

Storm is back in action on Friday against Regis Jesuit Red at Dunbar High School. First pitch is set for 8:00 a.m.

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