Braves head into All-Star tournament used to working together

If familiarity breeds success, then the Bonita Springs Junior All-Stars should thrive in the post-season.

Lacking enough players to field more than one junior team in its league, the Bonita Springs Little League featured only the Braves during the regular season.

Hence, the Braves are the All-Stars, and the All-Stars are the Braves.

Unlike other leagues that have a handful or more teams to select All-Stars, Bonita didn't have the luxury to be picky.

But coach Shannon Rhodes views the smaller pool as an advantage heading into the seven-team District 18 tournament that starts July 8.

"We've been together all season. We've got all our plays down and all of our defensive schemes. They know everything. I'm pretty confident," Rhodes said Thursday morning as his team prepared for a three-hour practice at the city's Little League complex.

Bonita's All-Star team is comprised of 10 players. Four players who were with the Braves during the regular season aren't on the team. One league's lone 15-year-old is too old for the tournament and the other three will be out of town.

What remains is an experienced group of seven 14-year-olds, including pitchers Octavio Torres and Kyle Bryerton.

"Octavio comes out and gets the job down. He throws it by guys," said Rhodes. "Kyle is a finesse kid who throws with velocity. He throws strikes. He's a guy I know I can count on to throw four innings."

Ditto for another reliable arm, 13-year-old Blair Foreman.

"If I need five innings out of Blair, he gives me five innings," said Rhodes.

It's been on the mound where Rhodes — who doesn't usually allow his pitchers to throw more than 70 pitches per outing — has seen vast improvement compared to a year ago when the All-Stars didn't win a game.

"I'm very happy with the pitching," said Rhodes. "Last year it seemed like we walked the ball park, eight or nine walks every game. When you have a walk in this game, it's pretty much a run. This year the most we've walked is four or five. Our strikeout ratio is much higher. Accuracy is much higher. They concentrate on what they have to do. Pitching, by far, has exceeded what I first envisioned."

Pitching has been a big reason why the Braves suffered only one blowout loss during their regular season games against other leagues, but the team's offense was also productive, which Rhodes hopes carries over to the tournament. Rhodes' son, Travis, Jesus Tovar, Keith Coleman and Tyler Snider are four of the club's most feared hitters.

"Travis smashes the ball. He's got good eye-hand coordination. He played on an older AAU team this year which really helped him here," said Rhodes. "Jesus has very quick hands. He does a great job of hitting. Keith is another kid who rips the baseball. Tyler probably has the best eye-hand coordination on the team"

In the field, Bonita should be strong.

"We really work on defense," said Rhodes. "They've come around a lot, from fly balls in the outfield to turning double plays, to getting centered on the ball. All these kids do the right thing."

Eight of the All-Stars will attend Estero High starting in August while Cody Arnold and Thomas DeMaio head into the eighth grade. Some players have been participating in a weight-lifting program at EHS this summer and a handful will attend a summer baseball camp hosted by Wildcats coach Frank Turco in July.

Other teams in the district tournament include Golden Gate Nationals, Golden Gate Americans, North Naples, San Carlos, Lehigh and Immokalee.

• Bonita Springs 13-14 Junior All-Stars: Head coach: Shannon Rhodes. Assistant coach: Jose Ragalado. Players: Cody Arnold, Kyle Bryerton, Keith Coleman, Thomas DeMaio, Blair Foreman, Travis Rhodes, Tyler Snider, Octavio Torres, Jesus Tovar and Pete Zivich.