The Raiders and Wildcats travel ball teams are playing in the Cooperstown Dreams Park Tournament.
Plant City is well-represented in this year's Cooperstown Dreams Park Tournament.
This year, two local travel ball teams are competing in the annual summer baseball tournament, held on the grounds of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Coach Mike Palestrini's Plant City Raiders have already competed, entering the Week 1 (June 3) pool, and coach Kelvin Lugo's Plant City Wildcats are about to begin playing in the Week 2 (June 10) pool.
Palestrini says the Raiders simply wanted to go to the tournament on their "golden ticket," passed on to them by local team baseball coach Tim Dowdy, and have some fun. But the team started hotter than expected, picking up three wins in the first round of action and showing a knack for smacking pitches over the outfield fence in clutch time.
"It surprised us, having such a great start … we were just hoping to come up here and have a good experience, win a couple of games while we were here," Palestrini says.
Full results were not available for press time but, on June 5, the Raiders were ranked ninth out of 104 teams in the field. A loss dropped the team down to 27th place by June 6, but that didn't ruin the good time the boys had.
"It’s pretty cool," Adan Longoria says. "Not many kids get to do this. Just to have the opportunity to be here is pretty cool."
Perhaps the team's greatest strengths are its chemistry and big-game experience. The team has been together for six years and, in July 2016, most of the Raiders were on the Plant City Little League 9-10 A All-Stars team that won the state championship.
The Wildcats did not have the benefit of the golden ticket to guarantee entry, so getting to Cooperstown took a lot of effort and a little luck.
"We had to fight to get our dates," Lugo says. We had to jump through a lot of hoops and go through a lot to get our dates."
Eighteen months and $1,500 later, the Wildcats find themselves in the CDPT mix.
Though the Wildcats organization has only been around for about three years, many of the players — like the Raiders — have played together since age 6. Lugo says the team boasts a deep pitching rotation, claiming 11 players that can take the mound if called upon.
"It’s hard to find a team that has as much pitching as we have … it’s almost like a chess game," Lugo says. "You’ve got to save the arms when you can."
Another thing helping the Wildcats is that two of their players have Cooperstown competition experience. Alex Machado and Tyler Williams went to last year's tournament, so they know what it takes to hang with 103 teams picked from around the country.
"(In the) first game, you can have nerves, but shake it off," Machado says. "Have fun. You’ve just got to believe in yourself."
Lugo is confident in the boys' ability to play well in the tournament. But, win or lose, he hopes the boys will have a blast in one of the sport's most hallowed grounds and make memories that will last a long time.
"I’m looking forward to their faces, more than anything," Lugo says. "Just to see them enjoy themselves. We’ve worked really, really hard for the last three years … it’s time to just go have fun, you know?"
