GULFPORT - The little guys with big dreams wrap up region play tonight under the brightest of ESPN lights. At stake? A trip to Williamsport, Pa., for the World Series, a late-August tradition featuring kids from the Southeast to the Far East.
But throughout the week, players made and left behind memories few associated with this tournament will soon forget. This week was more about reaching out than recording outs. Here are a few snapshots:
There was Tennessee manager Greg English, a hulking man who looked like he belonged in an offensive tackle box as opposed to the third base coaching box. That English was there at all was what he called "a miracle." Doctors diagnosed English with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the liver, and a man just a shade under 300 pounds withered to 140. His prognosis was six months at best.
That was seven years ago.
Manager Wayne Nevels had to make an unscheduled lineup change before the final inning of Alabama's last game. With Alabama down 9-0, assistant coach Jeff Miller gave his son and catcher Blaine words of encouragement in what would be his last-ever inning of Little League.
That was all it took.
Miller, eyes too swollen with tears, couldn't see through his catcher's mask. But the emotion didn't overflow because of the impending loss - it was realizing the summer was over and it was time to go home.
There was the salt shaker-sized Florida first baseman Tanner Stanley, making a full split on bang-bang plays look routine.
Christian Greene only threw one game in the tournament, but it was masterful. Greene used two breaking pitches, a live fastball and a physics-defying knuckleball to strike out 12 North Carolina batters en route to getting the win that secured a spot for Tennessee in the semifinals.
And speaking of Tennessee and North Carolina, no other teams left more of an impact. Boys from both sides became instant friends but had to face each other in the last game of pool play to decide which team would advance. After Tennessee won, parents snapped pictures in front of the scoreboard with the team. A proud parent asked a Tennessee player what was wrong, his team had just won? His response: "But our friends lost." Hugs and tears sprouted everywhere at the response.
Just as the Tennessee bus prepared to leave, two teammates sneaked away from the group and walked up in the stands. They stood in the dark and said nothing, simply soaking in one last glimpse of the field.
