The Wesley Chapel Storm, a 12U travel baseball team, recently brought home the gold championship from a week-long baseball tournament at the Cal Ripken Experience in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. They went 9-1 in their 36-team age division.
In pool play, the Storm first faced Bowfins Elite, losing 4-3, but then they won four straight — defeating Hoover Force (8-5); Baton Rouge Astros (16-1); the Rage (24-2), and finally Lincoln-Way Prospects (17-0). They outscored those opponents 65-8.
The team was at the No. 5 seed in the elimination round, but blew through these games to the championship, defeating: the Oswego Panthers 8-0; the Channahon Indians 9-3; and, the top-seeded Texas Twelve Maroon-Woodlands 16-5.
To win the championship, the Storm defeated a nearby Tampa foe, G.R.I.T. Baseball, topping it 5-2.
In all, the team combined for 105 hits, 106 runs, six home runs, three complete games pitched, and the 11 players who did pitch allowed just 16 earned runs.
Team members include Max Wyszkowski, Bennett Nissley, Lucas Mendez,, Zander Daughtery, Keagan Libby, Julian Pascarella, Logan Robertson, Christian Jarrett, Tyler McDonald, Luca Giacomino, Jonah Lloyd, and are coached by manager Justin Giacomino and assistants Brian Jarrett, Isaac Libby, Shawn Daughtery and Rick Massey.
