LAKE MARY | Lake Mary All Stars proved their victory on the field and as witnesses of Christian fellowship, Aug. 25, winning the Baseball Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It’s the first time a Florida team has won the Little League World Series in its 77-year history.

Paul Bibaud serves as the team’s assistant coach. He is an All Souls parishioner, and credited the teams’ hard work and commitment to two practices per day all summer and a rigorous boot camp. He also saw God’s hand in the win. Noting a number of players on the team who are Christian, he said he believes “faith always plays a role.”

At the bottom of the sixth inning against Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), despite putting runners on the bases inning after inning, the team was down 1-0. That’s when Jonathan Anderson, team coach, decided to share a story that changed everything for the Little Leaguers.

Three weeks earlier, Anderson, his son, Chase, and fellow players Liam Morrisey and Luis Calo, were checking out the stadiums when a man came up to them and asked if he could pray over them. The coach recalled, “He prayed for us, for strength, guidance, and endurance through this grueling few weeks playing baseball. He happened to sit over on our side and sit behind my father. He told my dad about how he prayed over the coach and some of the kids. Then his buddy says, ‘They’re going to win this whole thing. It’s written.’”

After telling his team the story, Anderson told the boys, “This is our summer. We’re going to win this. It’s going to be a magical story. Team makes Little League history Understand that this is already in the books, boys. Stay cool. We just have to finish the story. It’s written. It’s done.”

After instructing them to stay calm and focused, they returned to the game and scored a run, tying the game and throwing them into extra innings (Little League has six). At the bottom of the eighth, they were still tied.

With Lathan Norton on second, the final batter in the line-up, Hunter Alexander, went to bat. Hunter bunted to the right. Taiwan’s pitcher and first baseman both charged up to make a play on the ball, but the ensuing throw to first sailed into the outfield. Lathan seized the moment and scored the winning run.

Showing excellent sportsmanship and care for their opponents, the Lake Mary All Stars immediately noticed the devastation of the Chinese Taipei players. They did not hesitate to comfort them with hugs, affirming a game well played.

“That’s just what you do,” Anderson said. “We’ve all been there. We’ve all lost in a tight battle or felt some type of defeat. So, you comfort kids in those situations because you’ve felt it in your life. And you don’t want anyone to feel bad. That was a great battle, a great game. One team came out on top.”

Because Anderson’s mic was live on ESPN, his story to the boys about winning went viral. Although many saw it in a positive light, others argued faith had no place in sports. Some even questioned what it meant for Chinese Taipei.

“Maybe that loss leads those kids to do something greater,” Anderson said. “And maybe this win was something key to highlight that speech, to put it on the internet, for the world to talk about it. It’s all a plan.”

Anderson said his All Stars are like family. “We came together. We’re one. That was the difference between this team and everything else,” he said noting they understood the goal from the beginning, to win the whole thing.

“The work we put in the team building, and the togetherness that came out of it—I’ll never forget these boys for the rest of my life. It’s magical what baseball can do,” he said. “You think it’s just a sport and we’re just playing a game, but there are so many bigger stories in all of this.”

Going beyond the usual handshake after a game is a characteristic of this team. In eight years of coaching, Bibaud acknowledged their camaraderie is special.

Team member Jacob Bibaud wasn’t surprised about the win, or the story Anderson shared with the team. Jacob, who makes the sign of the cross before he goes up to bat, said he knew the story was true because his mom, Karina, said she had a dream they were going to win.

“(She said) I don’t know how we’re going to win, but we are going to win. That’s what the Lord said in my dreams,” Jacob explained. “I make the sign of the cross because I know God is with me every step of the way. No matter where I go, the Lord is with me.”

He is open about his beliefs because his mom taught him never to be ashamed of them, God is everywhere and to “always make God proud.”

At age 11, Christopher Chikodroff is the youngest player on the team. The Annunciation Academy student also seals himself with the sign of the cross prior to batting.

“I want to thank God for all the times He’s given me this opportunity and I want to say thanks to Him,” he said.

In his prayers the night of the win, he said he told God, “Thank you for this moment. I’ve worked so hard for it. I wouldn’t have been there without Him.”

Christopher acknowledged he was nervous when he first joined the team. “I didn’t think anyone would like me because I’m the youngest,” he said. “But everyone loved each other. We were all teammates, and we stood by each other’s sides the whole way.”

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, August 29, 2024