Well-developed resilience and some clutch play by local talent helped propel the Southampton Storm 14U Black softball squad to yet another tournament win recently in Newport News.

The Storm went 5-1 during the Heat of Summer Classic Two-Day Tournament, defeating Northern Neck Rage 14U in the championship game 3-2 via a come-from-behind effort.

This is the second year the Storm’s roster has been together, and coach Ronnie Vincent has noticed the growth.

“We won a lot of games last year, but we didn’t win the big games,” he said. “Now this year, not only are we winning games, we’re also winning the championships, so that’s a big step.”

So far this year, the Storm has taken first in four out of six tournaments.

Vincent pointed to extended pre-season preparation from mid-January to mid-March as a big factor in his players’ success.

“The off-season conditioning got them in good shape where they could play a lot of games,” he said, noting this extra training has helped them defend against repetitive motion injuries.

The Storm needed all the strength they could muster against the challenging Northern Neck Rage in the Heat of Summer Classic title game, and Vincent gave some credit for the win to previous opponents.

“All the competitive teams we’ve played in the last five tournaments, it’s toughened us up,” he said.

The Storm trailed 2-1 against the Rage in the top of the fifth inning. Then, the Storm’s Brittney Strickland of Suffolk came up to bat and hit a single. Sissy Funai of Isle of Wight followed with another single, putting runners on first and second.

Next, the Rage failed in a strategy against Makayla Dickens of Suffolk.

“They tried to pitch around her, and she hit a double,” Vincent said, noting the hit drove in both Strickland and Funai for the tying and go-ahead runs.

After that, the Storm’s defense prevented the Rage from adding on to their two runs, only one of which was earned.

“It was a big team win,” Vincent said.

He described the team as a group of role players who came together, and he highlighted the contributions of the local girls during the tourney. Strickland’s base-running was key, as was Dickens’ hitting and Funai’s defense at third base.

He also cited the important defensive contributions made by center fielder Morgan Stevens of Suffolk.

“She was injured on the last day, but her play in the pool (play) games helped put us in a good situation where we could get in the championship game,” Vincent said.

In the tourney, the Storm outscored their opponents 37-14, outhit them 47-25 and struck out 24 batters. Pitchers on the team included Megan Vincent, Bryona Knight and Miranda Joyner.

The Storm (26-7) begin play today in the SoftballNation Mid-Atlantic Championship Tournament known as the Queen of The Hill, taking place in Richmond.