FORT MYERS, Fla. – First they answered the call, the one that seemed a long-time coming. Then they answered the bell, just like everyone associated with the FTB Rockets 2023 had every reason to believe they would.
“We got the call and we told them we needed to be at Terry Park in an hour-and-a-half and everyone was on board,” FTB Rockets 2023 head coach Shane Olive said after arriving at the venerable old facility on Wednesday in time for the 4:45 pm first-pitch.
It had been a long wait. Hurricane Elsa had skirted up Florida’s southwest coast on Tuesday and its remnant was still producing a lot of rain Wednesday morning, forcing a rain delay at the 16th annual PG BCS 16u National Championship that reached about 30 hours.
The Rockets 2023 were among the first teams to get back into action after the fields at Terry Park were worked back into playing shape thanks to the diligence and expertise of the crack Lee County grounds crew.
“We’re just relaxed, ready to go out there and play baseball finally,” Rockets’ top 2023 prospect Nick Robert said pregame. “We kind of knew it was coming because of the whole tropical storm thing, so I guess we were all kind of ready for it. We’re ready to play; we’re always ready to go...
“We always look forward to playing in any tournament,” he added. “Whatever it is, we’re always going to try to our best and go out play.”
Olive told PG he’s had the core of this West Palm Beach, Fla.-based FTB Rockets 2023 team together since their 14u season and he likes the way they connect both on and off the field. After playing several local events earlier this summer, they had traveled up to South Carolina for some non-PG action and were ready to dive into one of the top 16u national events in the country.
“It’s always about just trying to get better every day,” Olive said when asked about the message he tried to convey to this team coming into the PG BCS 16u. “Regardless of who we’re playing or what time we’re playing or the circumstances with the rain and everything, we’re trying to get better.
“Obviously, we want to win and we want to compete and we’re trying to get better through that. We like these big ones with a lot of good teams,” he continued. “It’s always going to be a good game and it’s a lot of fun.”
The Rockets 2023 enjoyed both a good game and a high time in their Wednesday opener, a 7-1 victory over the Denton, Texas-based USA Prime Cole 16u.
They totaled 13 hits in the win, with leadoff hitter Ryan Shiflet contributing a double, two singles an RBI and two runs scored. Rocco Gaeta blasted a solo home run and crossed the plate twice; Walker Buchanan singled twice and scored both times he reached, and Robert, Tristan Head, Kristoffer Blanks and Nate Stafford all singled and drove in runs.
Robert, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound top-500 corner infielder/right-hander delivered four one-hit, shutout innings, striking out six and walking one.
“I always have high expectations and try to do my best,” he said. “I think with all of us, we’re not really stressed about how we do (individually), we just want to do good and play baseball and win games.”
The FTB Rockets 2023 official roster lists 21 players from the class of 2023, each of whom calls a city in Florida’s Atlantic Coast Palm Beach County home. Most, in fact, are from the Perfect Game destination city of Jupiter, the home of the annual PG WWBA World Championship.
They attend high schools like Jupiter, The Benjamin School, William T. Dwyer and Cardinal Newman, among others, which almost gives the FTB Rockets the feel of a real, local neighborhood team.
A lot of these guys have caught the eye of PG’s scouting department and have entered the class of 2023’s national rankings, although none of them has committed to a college quite yet.
The infielder/right-hander Head is the most highly regarded, coming in at No. 288, and there are also the top-500s in outfielder/corner-infielder Sean Collins and the corner infielder/right-hander Robert.
Another corner infielder/right-hander two-way guy, Carter Gschwind, is ranked as a top-1000, and the outfielder/first baseman Buchanan, the first baseman/left-hander Blanks and the middle infielder Shiflet come in as high-follows.
“Some of us are ranked but we’re not too [nationally] known,” Robert said. “We play humble and we’re just trying to play baseball; that’s all it is.”
Added the talented Head when asked about the Palm Beach County influence: “Baseball is like a lifestyle there. Everything revolves around baseball...and it’s just a big part of the community. The best players usually come out of Florida and it’s just a big part of it. We practice every day and that’s just like our life, I guess.”
This is the Rockets first PG tournament of the summer after having spent the last month playing in mostly local events.
“It’s more fun for us because we get to have practices and get to see them kind of grow and see kids get better throughout the process; it’s beneficial,” Olive said before adding how important the affiliation with the prominent FTB organization can be on these young players.
“FTB is huge for us; we talk to those guys all the time,” he said of the organization’s directors. “If we need anything direly they’ll help us out and they stay in touch and (help) with guys getting connected with schools.”
The familiarity they enjoy cannot be taken for granted: “Most of us have been together for a while,” Robert said. “We all know each other and I think everything is starting to click; this is going to be a good tournament.”
After Elsa forced the postponement of every game that started after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the Rockets decided to stay busy by visiting an indoor batting cage facility not far from their hotel. They took their cuts, got into as much of a feeling as normalcy as possible under the conditions and came into Wednesday both anxious and relaxed, if that makes sense.
“We weren’t in the hotel all day just sitting around,” Head said. “We were together as a team so we had some good chemistry (going) and that’s just what we were doing, hitting and stuff. … From all the work we’ve put in, we had about a two-week break and we’ve been practicing for this big tournament and we’re really ready to go. We’re ready to show Perfect Game how good we are and make a statement.”
Coach Olive told PG that staying relaxed is never an issue with this team, even during 30-hour rain delays. Keeping the players focused is something the coaching staff spends a lot of time on and it becomes all the more important moving forward, especially with more rain in the forecast for the remainder of the tournament.
Some may call it “coach-speak” but with Olive it comes across as sincere. He just wants his guys to get better as the week progresses with the hope they can play to the level he knows they’re capable of. Just make good impressions on the decision-makers who will be watching in an environment where they’ll be put in position to turn some heads.
“We know there’s a bunch of good teams at this tournament – some of the best; we just want to keep it cool and play our game,” Head said. “We know … this is a good team and we have good chemistry and we just try to keep it relaxed. That will help us win games and that’s we’re trying to do is just win it...We know everyone and we just play together and that’s a big part of baseball...
“Even if we don’t get the result of winning it all, let’s win some games and learn from it so we’re better next year.”