Warner Robbins (GA) Little League Baseball Team

On a national stage — in their moment of greatest triumph — the Warner Robins Little League baseball team did something truly worthy of celebration; they paused to lift the spirits of their opponents.  As if scripted by Hollywood, the squad found itself in extra innings of the championship game with Team Japan at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.  With the scored tied at 2 in the bottom of the eighth, slugger Dalton Carriker blasted a 2-1 pitch over the right field wall.  His teammates, jubilant in celebration, flooded out of the dugout to celebrate, while many players on the crestfallen Japanese team fell onto the field in disappointment.  But after congratulating Dalton at home plate, the Warner Robins players displayed maturity beyond their age.  They spread out onto the field, helped the Japanese players off the ground, and embraced them.  The Japanese team, impressive throughout the tournament, had much to be proud of, and the Warner Robins team made sure to remind them.  As the celebration continued, patriotic fans chanted “U-S-A” in recognition of the United States’ third consecutive championship at Williamsport.  But the team from Warner Robins transcended national differences, lending a hand to their opponents when they needed it most.

The Warner Robins, Ga., Little League Baseball Team is being recognized by the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance and the St. Louis Sports Commission.