By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Treghan Parker estimates there were 35,000 fans in the stands. Matt Woodmansee guesses it was 40,000.
And all but a hundred or so were rooting for the other team.
Six years ago, in the summer of 2015, Webb City played in front of a huge crowd at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Now seniors in high school, six members of that team are still playing baseball for the Cardinals.
Parker, Woodmansee, Cole Gayman, Noah Mitchell, Eli Goddard and Devrin Weathers have helped Webb City start 15-5 this spring. The district tournament is three weeks away. But no matter what happens in postseason play, any crowd that watches a Webb City game this season will be downright paltry compared to what the players experienced in Williamsport.
The Cardinals opened with a prime time game against Red Land Little League, a local team that had driven less than two hours to get there. And their fans from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, packed the stadium.
“They called themselves the red sea,” Parker recalled. “It was fun to play with that atmosphere but it was definitely a lot of pressure.”
“They had like a red sea so it was all the Pennsylvania fans,” Woodmansee said. “Just red shirts all around. Then there were like 100 of our fans.”
The game was a rout. Webb City lost 18-0 in four innings on ESPN. The final blow came on a grand slam in the third inning, a moment that went viral when Webb City pitcher Mekhi Garrard turned and watched the ball sail into the stands with a look of astonishment.
“That was probably the biggest home run I’d seen at that time,” Woodmansee said.
The team’s left fielder, Woodmansee said he knew it was a home run as soon as it left the bat.
“I didn’t even look at the ball,” he said. “I just turned around and looked at all of the fans.”
Webb City was eliminated in game two when it lost 6-3 to Rhode Island, but the team ended on a high note with an 18-6 win against Canada in a consolation game.
Goddard’s grandmother recorded the games on ESPN and he said it was a surreal experience seeing himself on TV later on.
“You see all the big leaguers on there and to see yourself doesn’t even seem real,” he said.
Goddard played catcher and third base for the team. He now pitches and plays first base in high school.
“I think we were really close and we had a lot of trust with each other,” he said. “As far as baseball goes we could just hit. A lot of home runs, a lot of runs scored in every game.”
The closeness of that team was cited by all six Cardinals as the primary reason for their success.
“It was a goal of ours and a dream and that kept us pretty tight,” said Parker, who caught and played shortstop. He’s now Webb City’s starting shortstop. “That’s how we bonded.”
“We had good chemistry all around and we had so much fun playing together that year,” said Gayman, the team’s starting second baseman and a pitcher – who also now plays some first base.
“Growing up playing together, building a brotherhood and working together. We knew each other and were able to build off of that and play well,” said Mitchell, who pitched and played right field and third base. Now he’s exclusively a pitcher for the Cardinals.
And Weathers, a third baseman and pitcher back then and outfielder now, said his teammates loved playing together. Of course, there was some talent involved, too.
“I think we typically just had better athletes than most of the teams we played in like regionals and stuff,” he said. “We also had really good pitching.”
The memories that most stand out from that summer for several of the players don’t even involve the World Series, ironically.
“We had a close district championship game and that was really big with our rivals Joplin,” Parker said.
The team had an uphill climb from the start, losing to Joplin in the district championship game and then having to beat the team twice to clinch. After winning the state championship, Webb City lost its first game in the regional tournament in Indianapolis and then had to win four in a row to make it to Williamsport.
“Just getting there after we won that game in Indy and celebrating, it was really exciting,” Mitchell said.
“I remember winning the regional game to go to the World Series and I remember how excited we all were to get to that point,” Weathers said.
“The moment where we won in Indianapolis, where we knew we were going to Williamsport. That was probably my top moment and just being there that first game with all those fans there was probably number two,” Gayman said.
Gayman said the goal of making the World Series didn’t come until later in the summer.
“I really think our goal was just to make it to Indianapolis at that point,” he said.
“We didn’t play too good in the World Series but when we got back everybody was cheering us on, just really proud of us,” Weathers said. “We had a little parade. We had a little something at the church. Yeah, it was pretty cool.”
Mitchell said the experience has given the six seniors a closer bond.
“We’ve been playing together for a while and I think that shows with how we’re playing now,” he said.
“Oh yeah, for sure we definitely have that bond,” Weathers said. “All six of us actually played on the same travel ball team like our whole lives so we’ve been close since day one.”
The six seniors – along with classmate Shane Noel – have played an integral role in Webb City’s strong start to the 2021 season.
Weathers, who’s signed with Kansas State to play football, is batting .579 with 34 runs scored, 17 RBI’s and 24 stolen bases.
Parker, who will play baseball at Missouri Southern is batting .435 with 25 runs, 41 RBI’s, five home runs, five doubles and five triples.
Woodmansee, who will play next year at Labette Community College, is a .353 hitter with 19 runs scored and 26 driven in. He’s clubbed eight doubles and a triple.
Gayman, another MSSU commit, has driven in 20 runs at the plate and is 3-2 on the mound with a 3.36 ERA. He’s struck out 42 batters in 33.1 innings.
Goddard, who’s also headed to play baseball at Southern, has allowed just two earned runs in 15.2 innings on the mound. He’s 2-0 and has 18 strikeouts.
And Mitchell is 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
“We’ve got a really strong senior class and we’ve got a pitcher only in Noah Mitchell,” head coach Flave Darnell said. “It’s a great senior class. They’re great leaders, great competitors. They’ve been in the fire. They practice hard so they’re a coach’s dream.”
Six years ago Darnell was coaching at Carl Junction. His wife taught at Webb City, though, so he was “well aware” of the Little League team’s success.
“Webb City has always had a strong Little League so they always seem to push to go to that series and it was good for the area and good for the community and good for those kids,” he said. “I’m sure that’s a lasting memory they’ll have.”
