Building camaraderie: A Vine-Ingle team’s Little League World Series story

Maconite sports fans might have come across a familiar yet surprising sight if they browsed ESPN sometime in late July.

Instead of a rotation of sports talking heads or a “30 for 30” documentary, Bibb County locals might have caught a glimpse of the Vine-Ingle 13U Intermediate Little League team. The Macon squad, led by head coach and longtime Vine-Ingle icon Harry DeHart, played for the Intermediate 50/70 Little League World Series in California from July 28 to Aug. 1.

The team won two games and placed third among U.S. teams while representing the entire Southeast region at the World Series.

“It was a great feeling to represent Middle Georgia all the way in California, and the boys had a great time,” DeHart said as he called from an airport Monday, his team still on their way back from the tournament in Livermore, California. “They played hard and put on a great performance for everyone watching back home. We didn’t take it as far as we wanted, but it was a great experience.”

While the team was eliminated in a 5-4 loss against a team from California Aug. 1 before facing anyone from outside the U.S., they finished fifth overall including the international teams.

For the first year of Vine-Ingle fielding a 50/70 team, it was an impressive performance.

“I’m very proud of how we played. We did make a few base-running errors, but those were hustle errors, trying to make things happen,” DeHart said. “We were just playing hard, doing what we thought was right on the field, and we just couldn’t win that last close game. It was still a great team and a fun trip.”

The journey to California was a busy one — flying out was smooth, DeHart said, but the team had to wait a bit to get picked up from the airport once they landed.

“Other than that, though, it was the most professional thing you can imagine. Nice facilities, we were transported back and forth each day, the uniforms were given to us,” he said. “ESPN was out there broadcasting us, it was the real deal.”

DeHart himself even got an interview during one of the games. It was a great moment for Macon, of course, but not the head coach’s cup of tea.

“I like to stay behind the scenes. The other coaches and especially the kids deserve all the credit, so I didn’t like doing the interview as much,” DeHart said. “But it was nice for Macon to get that exposure.”

Perhaps the most valuable and fun part of the trip, though, came in the form of the experience for the players.

The team is made up of boys from multiple schools across Bibb County. While most are ACE students and players, the entire team built relationships with each other and even other teams from across the globe.

Jessica and David Ruddell, for instance, got to watch their son James pitch in a 50/70 World Series game, yes, but they also watched him have fun.

“The biggest takeaway for me was the camaraderie they built with each other and the other teams, not even just America. They really hit it off with the team from Curaçao, the team from South Korea. They all played ping pong together in their free time, it was awesome,” David said.

James played at Vine-Ingle from T-ball all the way to the “majors,” the highest division there. When the league announced they’d have a 13U team, it was a no-brainer for James and his parents. 

The World Series team featured the standout players from Vine-Ingle’s 13U league, who then played in district, state and region tournaments — facing All-Star teams from North Carolina, Tennessee and more in that last segment —  to earn a trip to Livermore.

“It’s been so exciting, and also sort of surreal. It’s been such a big summer,” Jessica said. “When the region got delayed in North Carolina, it pushed it up to a Tuesday (July 23), and when they won they had to get ready and leave that same Friday. It’s a lot, but we’ve loved watching him play and get this experience.”

That experience could prove formative, DeHart said, as playing against nationwide competition does a world of good for growing athletes.

“They grew up a lot out here. When these boys go back to their ball teams at school, those schools will be getting a lot better for it,” the head coach said. “This is the type of thing that helps players get better and have a good sense of how to grow on the field.”

James pitched in a game that saw the Vine-Ingle boys behind by several runs, but kept them in the game as they nearly came back — the large deficit was cut to three runs, but the Southeast reps eventually lost. He was just one of many Vine-Ingle players that showed guts, his parents said.

“The pressure situations all the boys faced were just incredible,” David said. “James got out of that jam and kind of kept them in the game, and the entire team just performed. It was really cool to just watch them do that, and to watch it with professional commentary on ESPN, too.”

The momentum for Vine-Ingle is so strong that the league plans to add a 15U team next year, DeHart said. The planning and recruitment process is already underway for that group.

“We’ll have to get together some more funding, and obviously get the players. We ask anyone who wants to donate or participate to let us at Vine-Ingle know,” DeHart said. “This 13U team was great, and if we can add another division up, we think it can be great too.”

Jessica and David echoed DeHart’s sentiments.

“I think rec ball is getting smaller when you have travel ball getting so big, so I just think more kids should consider it,” David said. “That’s the biggest thing: I just want more local kids to play baseball here.”