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.

“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.”