Suncoast Storm defends home turf

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Every time 12-year-old Denali Schappacher steps out onto the field, she has her heart set on winning.

But it’s the times when the Suncoast Storm 98 center fielder and her teammates try to defend their home field that Schappacher enjoys the most.

Such was the case this past weekend, when the Suncoast Storm travel softball league hosted the USSSA I Heart Softball Fall Kickoff Sept. 24-25, at its home ballpark in Lakewood Ranch.

“It’s really cool because it’s your own home, and it’s especially cool when you win it,” Schappacher said. “It’s your home and you invite people in and try and beat them. I like having everyone here.

“This is our second tournament since we got some new players, so hopefully, we can remember all of our plays, hit well and have fun, of course,” Schappacher said.

Last weekend’s tournament was the Suncoast Storm’s ninth tournament of the past year. The league went nearly seven years before deciding to host its own tournament, and since then, eight of the nine Suncoast Storm tournaments have been either sold out or at capacity.

“It’s a lot of work, but we feel like we have nice facilities and are (active) in the community,” Storm 98 coach T.J. Goelz said. “We want to bring other teams that we’ve played back to where we play. It’s nice not to always have to travel, even though the kids probably like it more.

“The girls on our team kind of get it,” Goelz said. “They’ve experienced the involvement that goes into hosting a tournament at our place. They see their moms and dads out here volunteering, so they can get uniforms and new equipment and are able to play in tournaments, so they can try and go to nationals.”

Twenty-six teams, including the Suncoast Storm 98 and 01 teams across three divisions, participated in the two-day tournament. The Storm 01 team opened the tournament with a 13-11 victory over the Sarasota Heat, before falling to the Clearwater Lady Bombers 9-5 in the second game of the tournament. The Storm went on to beat the Sarasota Heat 9-1 in a single-elimination playoff before falling to the Christina Flames 4-2.

The Storm 98 team didn’t fair as well as they had hoped. The team, which entered the tournament after winning the Fall Festival Tournament Sept. 17-18 in Sebring with a 5-0 record in the 14-and-under division, lost all of its games, including a 3-0 loss to Tropic Wave 14 and a 6-5 loss to Dover Bullets 98 in pool play Sept. 24 and a 2-1 loss to Florida Gold 97, the eventual champion, in a single-elimination playoff game Sept. 25.

Myah Moy and Crystal Brown led the way offensively for the Storm, and pitcher Logan Newton allowed one earned run in the loss.

The tournament didn’t go as planned, but Schappacher knows know matter what happens on the field, she and her teammates always will be friends first.

“I enjoy that I can play softball with my friends,” Schappacher said. “If it was just a self game, I probably wouldn’t play it.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].