FORT MYERS, Fla. – With apologizes to the great Willie Nelson while stealing from his classic ballad "Me and Paul," it was rough and rocky traveling but by the time last month’s Perfect Game WWBA 15u East Memorial Day Classic called it a wrap, Elite Squad 15u National definitely found itself standing upright on the ground.
Weather forced the Squad 15u Nationals to play all four of their games on one day at that particular event – a total of 22 innings due to run-rule victories – but they were able to win all four and secure the event’s championship.
In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t quite as stressful as it may have seemed at the time because any kind of PG tournament championship is a championship well-earned. Or, as Willie sang, after taking several readings they were surprised to find their minds still fairly sound.
“It’s always nice to start (the summer) off on the right foot,” ES 15u National head coach Scott Morrison told PG Monday morning. “The schedule was kind of hectic … but I thought it was kind of a good way to get the guys out there (and) get a feel for which guys can play where in certain situations. It’s always good to enter into an event and come out with a championship.”
That is exactly what every player and coach that is part of this very talented Elite Squad 15u National team had on their collective mind Monday morning, opening day at the 80-team PG 15u BCS National Championship.
Morrison was speaking from the third base dugout at Terry Park Stadium before the Squad 15u Nationals opened play against US Elite 15u-Florida, the first of six pool-play games they will play over the next four days. (The tournament format can be found by clicking here).
Elite Squad Baseball, under the impeccable stewardship of organization owner Richie Palmer, has done an excellent job of creating a culture within the program that starts with teams playing at the 9u level and keeping those teams together as much as possible through the years.
The staff doesn’t want to create entirely new teams year in and year out, opting instead to keep a core group of players together as they rise through the ranks. By the time they reach the 15u level, that culture of excellence is ingrained in the players.
“Chemistry is super important and big part of who we are and what we do,” Morrison said. “Culture is a big thing that Richie has been real successful in building.”
Elite Squad teams have won multiple Perfect Game national championships through the years, and this ES 15u National squad comes out of the same mold of some of those outstanding teams from the past.
There are 10 prospects from the high school class of 2021 (sophomores in the fall) ranked in the top 125 nationally on the roster, including No. 14 right-hander/first baseman Irving Carter and No. 25 outfielder/right-hander Justin Quintana.
Carter, a U. of Miami commit from Boynton Beach, Fla., and Quintana, a Florida International commit from Miramar, Fla., were both members of the East Team at the 2017 14u Perfect Game Select Baseball Festival held here last Labor Day Weekend.
No. 47-ranked outfielder/first baseman Kyle Tako (Hollywood, Fla., uncommitted); No. 50 third baseman/right-hander Bryan Loriga (Hialeah, Fla., Florida International); No. 57 third baseman/catcher Juhlien Gonzalez (Southwest Ranches, Fla., Florida International) and No. 89 corner-infielder Marcus Franco (Miramar, Fla., Florida International) are the other top-100s on the roster.
Nine of the 15u National players were named to the all-tournament team at the PG WWBA 15u East Memorial Day Classic, including Carter and Quintana, who were also named the Most Valuable Pitcher and Most Valuable Player, respectively, at that tournament.
The others were Nick Anello (No. 110, U. Miami commit), Alex Ulloa (No. 125, Miami), Sebastian Rigueiro, Geovanny Cueto, Jorge De Goti, Connor Manning and Mario Felipes. Other highly ranked players on the roster that deserve attention include Andrew Painter (No. 111, Florida) and Sammie Sloan (No. 114).
“We’re brothers; we always do everything together,” Quintana said Monday. “When we’re at home, we hit together, we work out together; we go through the struggles and the success together. We have each other’s backs and we think we’re just as special as any other team out here.”
Morrison put it even more succinctly: “I would say this is probably one of the more talented groups that I’ve ever been a part of, especially with Elite Squad. The most important thing that these guys have is chemistry and unity. They’ve been together for a long time and I think it’s important that they’re going to take the next step and kind of put it all together not just on the field but off the field, as well.”
Morrison called the 15u age division “an interesting age-group, to say the least,” and went on to say that biggest challenge and he and the ES 15u National’s other coach, Chris De La Rosa, face is teaching these players the little things that are so important in playing the game well.
The players on a team like this have so much natural ability that they’ve been able to accomplish a lot already just by letting their talent take over.
“Teaching them how to play the game the right way, instilling in them what it means to play for Elite Squad and to play a certain way … it’s important for us to teach them the little things and how to continue to grow as a ballplayer,” Morrison said.
The Elite Squad staff feels that another way they can help these young prospects grow as ballplayers is to make sure they have a grasp on the organization’s rich history. The coaches constantly remind today’s players of the prominent prospects that put on the “Squad” uniform before them because without those guys the program wouldn’t be as strong as it is now.
It’s important for them to not only understand what came before them but to also understand the future of the program is now, somewhat at least, in their hands. Those are big shoes to fill, of course, but these guys seem to get it and doing a pretty good job of carrying the torch.
Carter said it’s special “every single day” to put on the Elite Squad jersey: “The guys that came before us have been really, really good.”
Added Quintana: “It’s awesome to think about the guys that did it before us and to keep up the legacy is awesome. When we see these guys get drafted we always talk about how we want to be like that and win championships just like they did.”
Elite Squad 15u National got off to a good start at the tournament on Monday, topping US Elite 15u-Florida, 8-3. Carter started and threw 3 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run on two hits while striking out eight and walking three; his fastball topped-out at 89 mph. Gonzalez doubled and drove in two runs and Quintana and Franco each singled and drove in two.
From here, this Elite Squad 15u National team will next take part in the PG WWBA 15u National Championship July 13-20 at PG Park-LakePoint in Emerson, Ga., and then Elite Squad staff will assemble a team to compete at the 15u PG World Series at PGP-LakePoint July 21-25. Morrison said it is likely that the majority of the spots on the 15u PGWS roster will be filled by players on this ES 15u National roster.
But first things first. These players are at the PG 15u BCS National Championship with the idea in mind of winning the whole thing. That will, of course, mean getting past some other very talented teams boasting their own assortment of highly ranked players, like Team Elite 15u Prime, Banditos Florida 15u Black and 5 Star National Black.
“We have high expectations and they understand that,” Morrison said. “From an organizational standpoint, across the board we all have certain expectations but at the same time, coming to an event like this that is so large – there’s a lot of teams – but we have our expectations and then we’ll kind of see what happens here. The players have the understanding of what’s at stake and what it means to try to get through this.”
Yes, they do, and the top prospects Carter and Quintana still believe they can use what they experienced at the PG WWBA East Memorial Day Classic to their advantage.
“The guys that we have in this dugout, we think we can (take it) to the next level,” Quintana said. “We came off that (East MDC) on a good note and I think we can come out here and give teams a run for their money.”
“It’s always good to win (a championship) so I think that going into this tournament we’re prepared,” Carter concluded. “It’s amazing be a part of this team. With Elite Squad, I just think that this team has the opportunity to do great things.”
And, once again using Willie’s words, a chance to one more time find themselves standing upright on the ground.