By Lenore Vickrey
The Phenix City Little League All Stars 12-Youth team, made up of 11 boys and one girl, captured the hearts of Alabama and America as they slugged their way into Little League history in August.
The team has a special connection to Alabama’s electric cooperatives: Twelve-year-old second baseman Casen Smith, number 13, is the son of Chad Smith, safety specialist for the Alabama Rural Electric Association (which publishes Alabama Living). Most of the team has played together since they were 6 and 7 years old.
“They loved every minute of it,” says Smith, who traveled to Williamsport, Pa., with his wife Lindsay, their younger son Cullen, 9, and their extended family, to watch all the games. The team won the Southeast Regional title, advancing them to the Little League World Series as Alabama’s team.
After losing to Washington in their first game, the team won three consecutive games, including a dramatic comeback 6-5 walk off win over Pennsylvania.
Pitcher Kinley Rasmus tied or set multiple records for girls at a World Series, setting an all-time record for most hits and most RBIs, tied for most wins and strikeouts and is the first to have an extra base hit, according to Yahoo Sports.
“We placed fourth in the United States and seventh worldwide,” says Smith. And when Kinley Rasmus was pitching, TV viewership increased, he adds, with a reported 2 million viewers watching those games on ESPN. She attends school with Casen, Smith says, “and she is very humble. She doesn’t necessarily like all that attention. Those are her best friends she’s playing with.” Her dad, Cory, coaches third base and is a former MLB pitcher; her uncle, Colby, was an MLB outfielder; and her mother was a D1 softball athlete, Smith says.
The team prepared intensely for the World Series, practicing six days a week from 3 p.m. to 8:30 or 9 at night. “Some days, instead of the late practice, they did 10 to 2,” in the heat of the day, Smith says, “to get in shape. People didn’t realize how much work our team put in from the time we made All-Stars.”
While just being at the World Series with his son was a special dad moment, Smith says the moment all the teams from all over the world lined up on the field for the first time “was incredible.”
“The only moment bigger for them would be if they were drafted and played in their first major league game,” he adds.
Support from his co-op family meant a lot during the weeks away in Pennsylvania, Smith says. “I was getting text messages all the time,” he says. “It felt good they were supporting my young’un.”
