By Kyle LoJacono
The Wesley Chapel baseball team rode into its district tournament last year with a program record 25 wins to two losses; appearing like a fourth straight championship was inevitable.
Then it happened.
Pasco upset the Wildcats in the district semifinals, ending the season well short of any of their goals.
“We didn’t expect it to end like that,” said senior third baseman Keegan Tanner. “We’ve all been working really hard because we were supposed to get to states, but we didn’t even get out of the districts. We’re not going to let that get to our heads so we get the job done this year.”
Wesley Chapel coach Chuck Yingling said they talk a lot about what happened on that April night.
“Even though we were 25-3 for the year, I never felt like we were mentally in the game like we needed to,” Yingling said. “Maybe it’s because we had eight seniors who’ve been together since they were in the eighth grade. They wanted to do some things their own way, and they were successful at it but we got off track and it showed in the district tournament.
“We talked a lot about how you have to stay focused and respect the game,” Yingling continued. “It’s not about whether you’re 25-3 or 3-25 — it’s how you respect the game and how you play the game that determines your legacy. I feel like it was a tough year to be 25-3 because we did struggle a lot, but won a lot of games. They were very talented, so we pulled through even when they weren’t doing things the way we needed to.”
The current Wildcats look much different from that record-setting squad a year ago. They lost eight seniors along with outfielders Alex McGough and Cody Hodgens who transferred to Gaither High.
The entire pitching rotation graduated, taking with them 22 of the squad’s wins and 153 of the 176 innings pitched. The departing starters, Brandon Mumaw, Matt Wynne and Marcus Crescentini, all signed scholarships to pitch in college.
“We have a lot of good arms, but they didn’t have to pitch much last year because of those three seniors,” Yingling said. “They haven’t had to do it on the field for a while, and once they do that it’ll help us a lot.”
Wesley Chapel only has two pitchers who made any starts a year ago, two for right-hander Chase Ingram and one for the lefty Hunter Robinson.
“It was nice having those three seniors last year,” Ingram said. “They did everything right, threw strikes and gave us a chance to win every game. I spent a lot of time with Matt and Marcus and they helped me out a lot, so I think I’m ready for this year.”
Robinson has tried to model his mentality after fellow lefty Mumaw, who led the squad with a 10-1 record, 72 Ks and 68.2 innings pitched.
“Brandon would go up there and he’d go the whole game and get out of all the pressure situations,” Robinson said. “Just learning from him and the other pitchers what to do in games and how to control yourself was important.”
Wesley Chapel has five seniors on its roster, three of which started regularly including Tanner, second baseman Cody Schaubert and left fielder Zach White.
“The seniors all feel like we have to step it up a little bit,” White said. “They were a big part of the team, but I think the three returning starters can pick up where they left off … I’m expecting maybe not to win as many regular season games as we did last year, but we’re going to be tough to beat when it matters at the end of the year.”
Yingling is counting on the young players growing significantly throughout the season like his first Wildcats team did in 2008 when they entered the district tournament 9-13 and as the last seed, but advanced to the finals to earn the first playoff berth in program history.
“I compare this team a lot to that first team,” Yingling said. “We’re a younger team than that team was, but neither team was very experienced and in a way we’re more knowledgeable about that game now than they were then because they know our system. … That’s why I feel we can make some nice gains through the year. One thing that is clear — this is the best working team I’ve had since I’ve been here. That makes them exciting to work with.”
The players are also out to show they can win consistently with a new cast of characters.
“I can’t wait to see how we perform,” Robinson said. “I want to turn some heads by staying really good even though we lost so many seniors.”
Wesley Chapel hosts Zephyrhills on Tuesday, Feb. 28 before traveling to River Ridge on Thursday, March 1. Both games start at 7 p.m.
–All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.
