Team Mizuno Impulse 14U took home the hardware at the Tulsa Elite Summer Invite winning the 14U division. Pitching, power, speed, and defense are obvious attributes to their success but if you ask Coach Jason Gwyn what the ultimate difference for his team's success it would be "buy in."



What makes this group so special?  This group has really embraced the mindset of process over outcome, and putting the best interest of the team before themselves.  Those are two very hard concepts for any athlete to fully grasp, and the fact that I have put together a group of 14 year olds who have collectively have already bought in and have adapted a selfless mindset is pretty unique and special.  Add that to the fact that all of these kids are very competitive and supremely talented with their skill set, and it becomes a recipe for success.

How would you describe your team's performance this weekend?  It has been a good start to what could be a very special summer.  We still have a lot of things to work on and get better at, but I think the players got a glimpse of how things really could be if they are committed to putting in the time and effort to get better every day.

The objective for this group is to be peaking at the end of the summer, so every weekend the coaching staff will present them with a new set of challenges and goals and the weekend’s performance will be based on the attainment of those goals and not necessarily on wins and losses.  This weekend I’d say we were good on about 75% of our goals.

How do you think your team responded to playing in 90 plus degree weather and playing 5-6 games a day?  I don’t feel like the heat and humidity affected them much at all.  I set up the pitchers and catchers to rotate every game so they were able to stay fresh by playing and resting equally.  

I was also able to utilize my entire roster throughout the day, so I’m not sure that there was one player on our roster who played every inning of every game.  Our roster is very deep with talented individuals, and I preach to them the importance of it taking all 15 players for the team to be successful.  I think Sunday was an example of that.

Who were the standouts of the weekend? I know it sounds very cliche, but the team effort is what stood out.  Every player gave max energy and max intensity, and they all equally contributed to the success of the team.  

We went 9-1 overall, scoring 92 runs and giving up 20.  We hit 14 home runs over the ten games, with five different players hitting at least one.  At one point in the tournament our leadoff batter had 10 consecutive hits and was on base in 13 of her first 14 at-bats.  
In 8 of our 10 games our No. 1 and  No. 2 batters were on base in the first inning, setting the table for middle of the line-up to capitalize early and put us ahead from the get go.  

Defensively, the middle infield was incredibly solid, the pitching staff did a very good job of hitting spots and pitching to contact. The catchers worked diligently to ensure the success of the pitchers.  I told the players that it would take everyone giving their best effort for us to be successful, and that’s exactly what I got. That team effort is the standout.

What game tested your team at the Tulsa Elite Summer Invite? How and why?  I think there were two games that tested us.  The first was the game we lost to the Wichita Mustangs.  The Mustangs are a great organization and always field very competitive teams.  

They put a lot of pressure on us during the game, both offensively and defensively, and we just didn’t respond very well.  After the game I reminded the team of what our goals were, and asked if they feel like we achieved them. This was an opportunity to capitalize on a teachable moment and talk about rebounding and refocusing, which we did very well.  

The other game that tested us was our third game on Sunday when we played a very good Texas Glory 14U RWB team.  It was a close 2-1 game. We took the lead on a sac fly in the bottom of the 6th inning.  

The Glory team challenged us throughout the whole game by consistently putting the ball in play and forcing us to make plays. Their pitchers spun the ball and kept our hitters off-balance.  It was a great game and I feel like that Glory RWB team is very underrated.

Meet the 14U Team Mizuno Impulse - Gwyn

2019

#1 Emily Olguin, OF/C — Oliguin is a lefty slapper with good speed and good bat control.  She has an above average softball IQ when it comes to reading defenses and finding a soft spot based on what they are giving her.  She really thrives on having a high OBP.

#2 Brittany Coe, C/MIF — Coe is the daughter of a HS baseball coach so she thinks the game at a high level and is very cerebral with performance demands.  She is a leader on and off the field and those skills and qualities are a driving force behind our team success.

#3 Tatum Boyd, P/2B — Boyd is a RHP that mixes speeds and locations very well.  She does a great job of keeping the ball down in the zone and works on expanding the zone over the course of a game.  Boyd has a very good grasp on the concept of pitching to contact and getting batters to hit her pitches where she wants them to get hit.

#6 Kylie Fletcher, OF — Fletcher has tremendous athleticism. She looks the part and plays the part.  She is a lefty batter who hits with a good amount of power while maintaining a high average.  Her speed allows her to drop down the occasional bunt and beat it out just to keep defenses honest.

#14 Ellie Bailey, 3B/SS — Bailey is our cleanup hitter and she absolutely excels in the RBI production role.  She is a line drive hitter with power to all fields and the ability to hit the long ball in any at-bat.  Bailey is also a tremendous defender with great footwork and a strong arm from her 3B position.

#15 Haley Morse, C/3B — Morse is an excellent defensive catcher that knows the strike zone and does a good job of using her skill set to help her pitchers be successful.  Her calming presence behind the plate really gives her pitchers an extra layer of confidence in what they are doing.  Offensively she is a middle of the line-up hitter that hits a lot of doubles and drives in a lot of runs.

#17 Elisa Rosado, OF — Rosado is another lefty slapper with great speed and a high OBP.  She is a threat to steal bases once she gets on and really put the pressure on a defense because of her speed.  When it comes to tracking down fly balls and do or die plays, she is very solid in the outfield

#21 Jordan Batagower, OF — Batagower brings speed and power to the game.  She has one of the strongest arms in the outfield.  Batagower is a gap to gap type of hitter who snags extra bases with her speed.

#44 Grace Green, P/1B — Green is the lone committed player (University of Oregon).  She is a LHP that relies on her pinpoint accuracy and ability to spin the ball through the zone to be successful.  She also hits in the middle of the line-up and presents a power threat from the left hand side.

#45 Caleigh Cross, SS/2B — In the past 9 months, Cross has made tremendous gains in size (growing about 6 inches) and strength. She is a lefty batter that is a true triple threat weapon. As a middle infielder, she shows great range and soft hands are reasons for her success.

2020

#5 Mayce Allen, C/OF — Allen is unquestionably one of the top players in the country because of her 5-tool skill set.  She hits for a high average, is a threat to hit the long ball on any pitch, runs in the 2.8 range. Her average pop time average is 1.7 sec as a catcher.  She is very unique in that she is equally strong in centerfield as she is behind the plate because she possesses the necessary skills to play both positions.

#8 Brooke Davis, SS/2B — Davis is a quality MIF, primarily SS.  She anticipates the next play and where the ball will be hit.  When it comes to shots or slow rollers, Davis uses her glovework to make the plays.  She is a RH contact hitter who has a knack for getting on base.

#9 Laney Roos, P/OF — Roos is another player who is very close to possessing the five-tool skill set.  She is a natural lefty that can drive the ball into the gaps and over the fence. Opposing teams have a difficult time defending her because she also has the speed to drop down a drag bunt and beat it out.  She is a southpaw pitcher who sits in the low 60’s and has a high ceiling for improvement in terms of velocity and spin.  

#12 Lexie Roos, C/1B — Lexie is a very strong player, both physically and mentally.  She does a very good job with our pitchers because of her framing and blocking ability.  As a hitter, she utilizes her strength to drive the ball into the gaps and produce runs.

#33 Abby Buettner, 1B/3B — Buettner is another player who has a HS baseball coach for a father, and you can see that in her approach to the game.  She is fundamentally sound on defense and provides a leadership on the field.  She has big time power as a hitter and utilizes all parts of the field to help her be successful.  She consistently puts the barrel on the ball and it shows in both her batting average and slugging percentage.