Boerne’s Little League team won the regional championship in Waco on Tuesday, August 7, and traveled to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for World Series competition this week.
In this competition, regional winners compete against each other and at the end, a national winner is chosen, who in turn competes for the championship title in the Little League World Series.
First, Boerne had to win a game against the winner of the Mid-Atlantic Region, and they did that on Thursday night.
Chris Carter runs Boerne’s Little League. He said Williamsport is rich in tradition. “It’s between the Appalachian Mountains, kind of built in a valley and kind of picturesque,” Carter said. “The stadium is as big as a college stadium, or even bigger.”
Like most sports, it’s psychological as well as physical. “They just have that attitude, they don’t let anything bother them, they just play the game and know what to do. That’s mostly because the coaches prepare them for that moment,” he said.
They were playing against the so-called Mid-Atlantic Division winners, but they were from a city only three hours away. They were essentially playing against a home crowd. Carter said the kids didn’t seem to care.
Photo courtesy
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Chris Carter
“My goodness, that was fun! 15,000 people,” he said. “When you think about it, about half of Boerne was there for the game. Texas fans are loud, so it seemed like we were filling the stadium.”
As the game progressed, Boerne was ahead 4-0 over Mid Atlantic and at the beginning of the fifth inning, the play was made that secured the victory.
“Kole Newsome was at bat. We had all the bases loaded a couple of times and oddly enough, my phone died right when I went to record him batting, so I don’t have the grand slam on my phone,” Carter said. “I think it’s his first grand slam he’s ever hit. So to hit in the Little League World Series is just awesome. I mean, what better place could there be, right?”
As Newsome rounded the bases, his teammates, clad in orange pinstripe shirts, streamed out of the dugout and met him and the other base runners at home plate.
Another home run later in the same inning gave Boerne the 9-0 score he needed to win.
On Monday they will play against the winner of the Northwest vs. Southeast division.
