JUPITER, Fla. – On a steamy afternoon last October 12 at venerable old Terry Park Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla., a rather youthful club out of Winter Garden, Fla., was about to play in the most impactful game of the team’s existence.
The Power Baseball 2021, under the direction of Jesse Marlo and Brian Dempsey, were set to take on the GBG Navy 2021, a powerhouse outfit out of the Los Angeles area, in the championship game at the Perfect Game WWBA World Championship.
The WWBA World had been relocated to the Gulf Coast from its longtime home in Jupiter on the Atlantic Coast due to restrictions and protocols brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
The circumstances were much different on Saturday, with the WWBA World championship now safely back home in Jupiter. But what remains the same is that Power Baseball is still hammering away, this year with the Power Baseball 2022 Platinum proudly flying the program’s banner while still managing to win their fair share of ballgames along the way.
Power Baseball 2021 lost that 2020 championship game to GBG Navy 2021 by a 9-1 count and left Southwest Florida with a 7-1-0 record. Playing at the Roger Dean Complex this year and surrounded by all the fanfare that people close to the WWBA World Championship missed so dearly a year ago this week, the Power Baseball 2022 Platinum on Saturday clinched its pool championship and advanced to bracket-play, which begins Sunday.
“This is a lot different compared to when we were in Fort Myers; this event is just so crazy but it’s so much fun to play in,” Power Baseball 2022 Platinum top 2023 do-everything guy Braden Holcomb told PG Saturday morning, well before afternoon rain showers postponed all of the Saturday night games. “It’s a little overwhelming at first but when you get used to it it’s a lot of fun to play in this event.”
Holcomb, a Vanderbilt commit ranked the No. 6 overall national prospect in the 2023 class, is one of five prominent Power players who also started for last year’s “Fort Jupiter” runner-up team. Holcomb hit in the five-hole in the batting order followed by 2022s Ben Barrett, Greg Pettay, Riley Parker and Isaiah Barkett.
Now look at the top-five batters Marlo and Dempsey sent to the plate during the Power’s three pool-play games this week, which were won by a combined score of 20-10:
Shortstop Pettay (No. 219-ranked, UCF commit), leftfielder Barkett (t-500, N.C. State), first baseman Barrett (No. 189, Florida State), right fielder Holcomb and catcher Parker (t-500, UCF) hit 1 through 5 in the order, basically moving from the bottom half to the top half in a year’s time.
“They bring the energy all the time and they’re the leaders of the team and they’re also the leaders on the field,” Marlo said. “Those guys, obviously, are the meat and bones of our team and our lineup.”
Marlo took a moment to contemplate exactly what having those veteran players mean to this weekend’s efforts: “We’re just trying to build off of what we did last year and obviously this is a great atmosphere for all the guys,” he said. “It really helps us that a lot of our guys that played last year are still on this team. They’re used to this atmosphere and used to going deep into the playoffs and now they really understand what it takes.”
Some of the other returnees from last year’s Jupiter runner-up team include middle-infielder Danny Baez (t-500), ’22 right-hander Todd Kniebbe (t-500) and the ‘ 22 lefty Isaac Sewell (t-500, Virginia Tech).
“Last year, we had like five or six ‘22s starting in that Jupiter lineup, so we’ve been playing for a while,” Barrett told PG Saturday. “We might have added one or two kids from the ’22 class this year but it’s the same group of guys, really competitive guys, and they’re fun to play with.”
Marlo did take a moment to speak about Holcomb, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound infielder/outfielder who is viewed as a high-end prospect with a high ceiling and is drawing scouts’ attention two years ahead of the 2023 MLB Amateur Draft.
“He’s an outstanding player and the best thing with him is we can kind of move him around,” Marlo said. “We’ve had him in left field, he’ll play some third base for us; he’s played a lot of shortstop. He’s very versatile and a realty good player; super athlete. …
“But he’s got a lot to learn, too, and it’s good to have around Pettay and Barrett and those other guys so he can see how to go about his business when he’s in this situation again next year.”
The Power Baseball 2022 Platinum’s march through pool-play was far from emphatic, winning games by scores of 3-2, 8-2 and 9-6, he latter coming against the East Cobb Astros-Orange with the outcome clinching the pool championship.
2022 right-hander Pablo Torres (t-500, Bethune-Cookman) and ’23 righty Charlee Soto (t-500, UCF), a couple of newcomers, gave the team some productive innings on the mound during pool-play and ’23 righties Collin Priest (t-500, VCU) and Carter White (t-500, UCF) are capable contributors.
Marlo is relying on quite a few young players again this year with seven 2023s and three 2024s rostered. It’s a formula that works, as evidenced by the impact the 2022s had on last year’s Jupiter runner-up.
“It’s kind of our philosophy that we like to get our younger guys as much time as they can out here and get them in this atmosphere,” Marlo said. “It’s just going to help build character and create better baseball players and help us in the future. We feel like that’s a lot better route for us and it’s going to help us be more successful than going out and grabbing guys from all over the country.”
In that regard, the future looks to be pretty bright for Power Baseball, especially at 15u level. The Power Baseball 2024 Platinum finished No. 2 in the national 15u End of the Summer Rankings and top 2024 Miami commits Elliot Sande (No. 123) and Ryan Ashford (No. 179) have found spots on this Power 2022 roster. Hold on to your hats.
“It’s continuing to grow, it’s continuing to get better and we’re going to try to continue to do things the right way,” Marlo said. “Hopefully it will keep on moving in the right direction. … For us, if you’re good enough to be out there it doesn’t matter what (grad) year you are, we’ll throw you out there. If you’re on the roster we have confidence to go with you.”
Bracket-play in all its glory begins Sunday and an advancing team will play three games that day with the possibility of a semifinal and championship game on Monday. That’s the epitome of a baseball grind but it’s what these guys live for, and the clubs that can exhibit the most mental toughness will ultimately prevail.
It’s a topic the coaches talk about with their players on a regular basis. An emphasis is put on arriving at the field on game day motivated and ready to play and that’s especially true once bracket-play begins. Marlo is quick to remind the guys that at an event with the prestige of Jupiter, every team has good players and every team is capable of beating the other guy’s butt at the drop of the hat.
“It’s going to come down to who’s making mental mistakes, trying to stay away from the big physical errors and really just throwing strikes. … What’s the saying that 68 percent of fair balls put in play are outs so the odds are in your favor.”
Holcomb agreed: “Every game is so close here and the team that makes the least mistakes is always going to come out on top. It’s just like your adrenaline is constantly going, and you’re always amped-up and you’re always ready to go; it’s just a great event.”
A great event, indeed. So many of these Power Baseball players understand exactly what’s required to grind their way into the championship game. It’s not a been there, done that mentality at all, it’s just more an understanding that comes with having lived the experience up close and personal; lessons were learned.
“Last year in the final-four and then when we got into the championship game we were almost out of gas; we were dead,” Barrett said. “That was one of the reasons we couldn’t pull it out but it’s definitely a grind here. It’s a lot of games towards the end and you’ve got have a pretty big (pitching) staff to get through it. … It’s a great feeling and these guys are just amazing teammates; I wouldn’t want to play with anyone else.”
At that point in the conversation and when asked about the guys who are directing the traffic in the dugout and out on the field, Barrett didn’t hold back:
“We have a great coaching staff and the coaches definitely get us fired up. (Brian) Dempsey does a great job with getting us hyped-up with the hitting and then (Jesse) Marlo is our pitching guy. … The coaching staff is great here and that’s one of the big reasons (for our success).”
The page has turned. There are a lot of similarities between this Power Baseball 2022 Platinum club and the Power Baseball 2021 team that made an appearance in last year’s WWBA World championship game.
The overall personnel has changed, as is to be expected, but there are enough returnees to provide a comfort zone. In the grand scheme of things maybe none of it really matters all that much – baseball is fickle that way – but it sure makes for a nice little storyline.
“We need to stay focused because it’s going to really be fun again once we get in the playoffs,” Marlo said. “Everyone loves being in that big-game atmosphere and being around all these scouts to see the golf carts lined up.
“It is a totally different atmosphere here than when we were in Fort Myers; it’s been awesome. So hopefully we can make another great run now that we’re back here in Jupiter.”