PORTLAND, Ore. - The reigning diamond darlings of Dixie swooshed into the homeland of Nike a week ago and once again emerged the goddesses of Little League softball.
Warner Robins American's 8-6 triumph over Burbank, Calif., Wednesday in the World Series was a true-life tale of dreams coming true, part two. A third trip to the World Series stage out West since 2002 proved fruitful for a second straight season as the Houston County kids staked their claim on their youth sport's grandest stage.
Perhaps it's time to plant one of the Beaver State's iconic Douglas firs beside the lone live oak that grows beyond the center-field fence at Field 6, their home ballpark off Snellgrove Drive.
"This is unbelievable. Unbelievable," Robins manager Roger Stella said. "People are saying back-to-back, but this is a different team. They just accomplished the same thing. ... Fantastic, man, I'm so glad for those girls. They don't know what's in store for them over the next few months, but they're gonna have a good time."
The wooden bleachers at Alpenrose Stadium that wrap around the stands from first base to third are bordered by two-foot-wide brick planters full of marigolds. The fluorescent-orange blooms almost matched the Southeast jerseys.
Even if the blooms made it look like a hometown touch, the end didn't come easy. Down 8-4 with two out in the final frame, California cut the lead in half on a pair of hits.
Warner Robins pitcher Hayley Tierce, on a 3-2 pitch with the tying run at the plate, whizzed a strike and caught Davina Del Castillo looking to seal the victory. It was only fitting that Tierce was on the mound. She has cousins in the Portland hills.
"I think I died three times tonight," said Tierce's grandpa, Larry Johnson of Caruthers, Calif. "I told if they made it we'd be here. ... She had just enough to put 'em away, but it was a team effort."
"The Georgia belles did it!" shouted Tierce's great aunt, Pat Zirkle of nearby Hillsboro, Ore.
When the clinching strike whistled into catcher Chelsea Whaley's glove, Tierce said, "I didn't really know if the umpire called it a strike. But then I saw coach Roger coming out of the dugout and the scorebook flying in the air."
Warner Robins American broke on top 4-0 in the first inning thanks to five walks and a wild pitch. The only hit in the frame was a liner to left by catcher Chelsea Whaley after second baseman Sierra Stella led off the game with a walk. The at-bat of the inning belonged to Tierce, a nine-pitch battle that included three foul-offs and ended in a walk that plated Stella with the first run.
In the California half of the first, after a pair of runners reached on walks with two out, Michelle Santiago smashed a drive toward the warning track in left. Warner Robins left fielder Peyton Stallworth turned and drifted back toward a patch of bunting and the Baskin-Robbins sign, drew a bead, and hauled in the out.
"I thought I was burnt at first," Stallworth said. "Then I was thinking, 'Don't drop it.'"
"I thought it might have gotten over her head," her dad, Mike Stallworth, said of the walloped fly ball. "I'm a proud papa right now."
In the bottom of the second, California carved into the lead and fired up what may have been the most vocal cheering section at the tournament. On this evening, the Golden Staters had company. In some ways, it was Warner Robins against the world. Teams from New Jersey and Puerto Rico rooted on the purple-clad Californians. After a two-run triple cut the lead in half, 4-2, the barking revved up.
"West Coast in the house, in the house, in the house! ... West Coast in the haaa-oooose!" barked the West's cheerer-in-chief, a parent in face paint who, needless to say, didn't exactly endear himself to the Georgia backers.
California was poised to score more, but with two outs Warner Robins center fielder Amber Coy charged a bloop, slid to a knee, and made a basket grab to halt the threat.
"The ball started dying and it started dropping so I had to run and dive for it," Coy said.
In the bottom of the third, California pushed a runner to third with two outs, but the third straight inning-ending defensive feat kept it 4-2, Southeast. Second baseman Stella, who shined in the field at the Southeastern Region tournament earlier this month, scooted to her right, back-handed a roller and winged it to first to end the inning.
In the top of the fourth, after a leadoff walk to Kayla Quakenbush and a pop-out, Stella punched a dribbler past a diving third baseman to put two runners aboard. Whaley's rope to left scored Amber Coy, who pinch-ran for Quakenbush, making it 5-2.
An inning later, Cox started the Robins fifth with a single to left. Killebrew, who'd been cut down at home on a collision to end the third, singled to left. Coy pinch-ran for Killebrew, and Taylor Brown drew a walk to fill the bases for Quakenbush, who slapped an RBI-single for a 6-2 cushion. After MC Tucker rapped a single to short for an RBI and a five-run lead, Warner Robins tacked on its final run when Brown zipped home while Tucker was caught in a rundown.
At that point, Warner Robins had amassed 10 hits, eight more than they mustered the night before in a 1-0 semifinal victory over Ohio. During a Wednesday-morning practice, Warner Robins manager Roger Stella told his team, "If you don't hit the ball, you're gonna lose tonight." The night before, one of their grandmothers, only half joking following the narrow escape against Ohio, said, "Y'all might want to put some of those bats in the bed with you tonight."
Six outs from the championship with two California runners aboard, Warner Robins first baseman Lamb crashed into her team's dugout fence as she made a highlight-reel grab. With Lamb on the ground with an injured left knee, a Jade Teetsel tagged up and raced home to make it 8-3. Santiago's sacrifice to left trimmed the lead to four.
California managed those two runs in the final inning, but Tierce had enough left in her arm to strike out Del Castillo looking for the final out.
In the days before Warner Robins boarded a plane for Oregon, Roger Stella spoke privately of the almost daunting task that lay ahead, of following in their own footsteps and re-climbing youth softball's peak.
"I told them this at the beginning of all-stars, I said, 'Look, it sucks, but that team last year didn't do you any favors.' But, you know, they seem more focused," the 36-year-old manager said at the time.
"It kind of scared me when they won state. ... Last year the girls were all jumping up and down. This year the girls won, threw their gloves in the dugout, went out there and shook hands. I think it's almost like, 'Win the World Series or you fail.' Which is ... ridiculous," Stella said. "Everybody doesn't just go to the World Series. Everybody thinks this is easy. It's not easy."
And only one is left standing. The International City has a world champion again.
To contact writer Joe Kovac Jr., call 744-4397.
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