Our Summer

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Tie game. Bottom of the eighth inning. Little League World Series title on the line.

Twelve-year-old Hunter Alexander of Lake Mary, Florida, awaits the pitch, hoping he can overcome the crowd, the national TV audience, the nerves and just do something to make this game end, to claim the first ever LLWS title not just for his team but for the state of Florida. Taiwan’s Chui Wei-Che, getting ready to throw, is trying to notch his nation’s 18th Little League title and first since 1996.

Lathan Norton is the runner designated to start the inning on second base per Little League rules. He did not even play in the semifinal game the day before due to a 102-degree fever.

But he knows what Hunter is going to do on the first pitch. And just like that, he does it. Hunter lays out a bunt toward first base. Lathan speeds off for home plate.

Fun at any age

In baseball, the two best teams on the planet can face off. They can have nine-figure payrolls, monumental stadiums and elite talent like the Yankees and Dodgers. That doesn’t always make for the best games, though.

In just five games, the World Series was over last fall, with barely a beep from the vaunted New York lineup, while the greatest player of this generation, Shohei Ohtani, suffered a shoulder injury.

Only four of the last 15 LLWS finals were decided by a run. Only five of the 77 title games went to extra innings.

Yet when those magic moments happen, Little League shows it can be just as exciting as Major League Baseball, even if the bases are only 60 feet apart. Twelve days of action in South Williamsport this summer led to one of those moments.

First steps

Lake Mary Little League’s run to the championship game was built on the belief among coaches and players that no team practiced harder than they did. The ultimate goal was achieved through long summer workouts, heads-up plays in the clutch and the backing of an entire state.

For all the teams in the tournament, the journey to South Williamsport began as it did every year – with practices at home ballparks all around the country in the early summer. Lake Mary manager Jonathan Anderson wanted to do what Nolensville, Tennessee, did in 2023 and represent the Southeast region.

Anderson remembered that Nolensville had a tagline, “Our Time,” that they lived by on their run. That recollection of the team sparked something.

“This team wasn’t better than us last year,” Anderson said of the Tennessee club. “But there was something that they believed and it came true.”

Thus, “Our Summer” was born. The phrase became the mantra of the team from north of Orlando.

Leading up to the state tournament, Lake Mary held practices twice a day on every weekday. Yes, two-a-days for 12-year-olds. The boys accumulated miles in running and executed a plethora of scenarios on the diamond. The practices were extremely grueling in the sultry Florida summer. But Anderson recalls that very few players ever missed a session.

“They were locked in,” Anderson said. “They believed it was ‘Our Summer’ as well.”

In the Florida state tournament, Lake Mary encountered Boca Raton with their phenom Jhunior Cordero. The Class of 2030 player already topped 83 miles per hour when pitching from 46 feet away, the equivalent of more than 100 mph.

But Lake Mary was ready. Assistant Kyle Bono, a former All American at Central Florida, utilized his personal training facility to help the players hit against such speed beforehand.

Lake Mary took down Boca Raton in extra innings, 6-2, and eventually won the state championship. Lathan remembers the payoff of those long practices.

“We all believed that we were going to Williamsport,” Lathan said. “It was intense, but we all knew it was for the better.”

Any team that makes it to LLWS boasts tremendous talent and skill. But Lake Mary knew that, through all of it, not a single team was more prepared than they were.

Heading into August, it sure seemed like their summer.

Long journey

Just from a logistics point of view, it’s not easy to win the Little League World Series.

The grind of competing for months away from home is exhausting – travel, hotels, meals, they all have to be arranged, not to mention making sure the players are healthy and happy.

“You’re away from your kids and family, it’s just you and (the team),” said Anderson, who works for cabinet maker Doormark, Inc. “You have to have a boss willing to let you do this so I can see why some coaches hang it up.”

Perhaps every boss, spouse and parent in central Florida knew it was their summer, too.

From district tournaments to the arriving in the World Series final, Lake Mary only suffered one loss to Boerne, Texas. Turns out Lake Mary got another shot at Texas – in the LLWS semifinal to decide which U.S. team would face Taiwan in the championship.

Boerne had taken the first game 4-1 and were leading by the same score in the top of the fifth of the semifinal, a deficit teams rarely make up at the Little League level, where games are only six innings.

But Lake Mary wasn’t done. Liam Morrissey got an RBI single and Teraj Alexander got another with a ball to the outfield. It was 4-3. Then Christopher Chikodroff lined one right to the mound that Texas couldn’t handle – scoring the tying run and sending Teraj to third.

As Teraj stood on third base, he noticed that the Boerne pitcher took his time with the ball after every pitch. It was time for one of those great moments – one that went back to those long summer practices.

All the practice, all the planning and their steadfast mantra came to fruition with a Little League World Series championship. In 77 editions, Lake Mary was the first team from the Sunshine State to win it all.

“I also kind of wish I was a part of the two weeks while the team was up there, and being able to be at the bars or the camaraderie with the city,” Anderson said. “Everyone kind of embraces you, and it’s a cool moment.”

Taiwan, meanwhile, felt the heartbreak. The team declined to hold a news conference after the game. Minutes later, manager Cheng-Ta shuffled among the exiting crowd, staring into the distance. No one spoke to him or even approached him.

Florida players experienced their newfound fame firsthand when they returned home. Teraj was blindsided by the number of news reporters at the airport. Lathan was congratulated by every student and faculty member at Markham Woods Middle School. Hunter’s friends laughed with him every time he was recognized by someone at a restaurant.

Lake Mary Little League’s victory parade was attended by over 17,000 people from across the state. The team took trips to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, were invited to the Governor’s Mansion and were honored by many of Florida’s professional sports teams.

A team that believed had their work pay off. The players got to enjoy themselves after the game. Their summer was capped off with care-free fun.

“We went to the top of the hill (at Lamade Stadium), met everyone else, and we just slid down the hill for like an hour,” Lathan said. “We were all covered in grass but we didn't care, it was the most incredible thing ever.”

Sports don’t always have to be the best athletes in the world to create magical moments. Lake Mary’s run to the Little League title showed exactly why we watch and why kids everywhere play the games they love.

Anderson gained the trust of his players to be smart out on the base paths. He sees himself as an aggressive coach, and wants to see his players make choices and stick to them.

“They were aware that they had the grace to make decisions on their own,” Anderson said. “And if they did make the decision, do not hesitate.”

Teraj took Anderson’s philosophy to heart.

“I realized that the pitcher wouldn't really look at me,” Teraj said. “I just kept creeping more and more until I finally got to a point where I'm just saying I'm just going to do it.”

Teraj stole home and took the lead for Florida.

Boerne grabbed the advantage back in the bottom of the fifth, but the momentum had shifted. Lake Mary scored another five runs in its final at-bat and won 10-7, moving on to the final.

Championship magic

As many coaches say in tournaments, the great thing about winning Saturday is you get to play Sunday. The problem with playing on Sunday for Lake Mary was the opponent: Taiwan.

Taiwan has the most LLWS titles of any non-American country. Its manager, Lee Cheng-Ta, was also the manager for the last team to make the finals in 2009, and he also coached the 2023 team that finished third in the tournament.

Fans packed the seating of Lamade Stadium. Many more parked their lawn chairs on the steep hill that overlooks the outfield. Summer sunshine. Blue skies. Perfect day for baseball.

Taiwan prided itself on strong pitching to carry the team to victory. Pitcher Ciou Zhi-Kai held Lake Mary scoreless through four innings after Chiu Wei-Che scored in the first. However, DeMarcos Mieses tied the ballgame on an RBI single in the sixth after Zhi-Kai was relieved.

The World Series final went to extra innings. After a scoreless seventh, Lake Mary came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth with a chance to win it.

Hunter was the lead-off hitter. He noticed in his previous two at-bats that Taiwan constantly fed him curveballs.

“I was thinking it was probably a curveball,” Hunter said. “Lathan is at second and I’m like ‘I should probably lay down (to bunt.)’”

Lathan waited on second.

“My coach told me that Hunter was going to be bunting,” Lathan said. “And I was running even though I was on second, which was crazy.”

Bruce Norton, Lathan’s father, was nervous watching from the stands. But he, like the rest of the players, knew that they had practiced for these moments.

“They would constantly talk about baseball awareness,” Norton said. “They were well-prepared.”

Meanwhile, back home in Florida, a woman from Lake Mary sat in her cabana at the JW Marriott in downtown Orlando. She set up her spot to watch the game. Fellow Floridians passing the cabana constantly asked her for score updates and what was happening.

Eventually, a mass of enthusiastic fans surrounded her and watched along. The bars in Lake Mary were packed like Florida was playing Florida State in football.

Our summer. Florida’s summer.

The pitch came. Hunter squared to bunt. The Taiwanese pitcher picked the dribbling ball off the grass and threw to first base. No one was there. Lathan slid across home plate to the roar of the Lake Mary faithful.