The Florida Fire, a mainstay in TravelBallSelect’s top 10 ranking last year, took a couple of months off to rest the players. During the break the Fire added a couple of players to compliment their core team that has been together since the 8U season. Davis Liput and Omar Garcia were two drop down players added to the team. Garcia returns to the Fire team after a year of playing up with AAU National Champions Chet Lemon Juice 12U. "Adding Garcia gives us another championship game arm, and Liput's bat is even better then I thought" said Coach Nenna. "The team now has a clear direction, and is functioning as a unit. What a difference a few changes make" added Coach Nenna As they say, “the proof is in the pudding” and the Fire has been very effective and imposing in the early goings.

Florida Fire won the USSSA Florida Travel Ball Grand Slam Slugfest this past weekend. The Florida Fire playing in their first tournament since the Elite 24 came out sharp as they went on to outscore their opponents 44 - 6 in 5 games. In preparation, the Fire played in a couple of double headers on September 13, 17 and 27. In each double-header the Fire controlled the game both defensively and offensively. In the last double-header, the Fire matched up with the powerful and TravelBallSelect ranked Meteors Baseball team that finished fourth at the AAU Nationals in Disney as 11U. The Meteors also have added some players to their line-up to make them even tougher than before. The Meteors were not as sharp as the Fire in the first game and lost soundly, 14-5. However, they were able to bounce back and keep the second game close before finally losing 5-4. In addition, to the new players making an impact this fall season, All-America Players Brendan Rodgers and Bradon Rollins continue to excel. But a team can not compete at the highest level if it does not have all the players contributing. Other players making an impact are Bradley Nenna, Nick Fortes, Kyle Cross, Michael Byrne, Ryan Olenek and Hunter Allen.

Next on the agenda for the Fire is the Triple Crown Fall Nationals in St Augustine, FL. TravelBallSelect will also be at this event to cover the games up close and personal. Whereas the Fall Season schedule is light for the Fire, next year will be busy as the 2008 Season. Next year the boys from Florida will make a return trip to Cooperstown Dreams Park as they received their invitation to play in the event again, this time as a 12U team. This is a team that has reloaded and developed in an effort to improve on their semi-finals finish as 10U.

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