They were already popular around town, but when the Boerne Little League Majors All-Star team clinched a spot at the Little League World Series, it elevated them to rock-star status.
Head coach Justin Newson, a Comfort High graduate, said his phone blew up after they qualified for the LLWS.
“I had 400 text messages and missed calls,” he said. “I was talking to people I haven’t talked to in a while.”
That’s nothing compared to what one of the players went through. Boerne pitcher Julian Hurst said he had 800 notifications on his phone after they won the championship game Tuesday against Louisiana.
Hurst said he hasn’t gone through all his messages and phone calls at this point but plans to.
“I’m still focused on baseball but after the World Series I think I can clear through all the notifications,” he said.
Hurst said it’s been a fun journey once the all-star team was assembled before the start of summer.
“We’ve been working since the beginning of June and it’s been nonstop baseball and now that we’ve reached this moment everyone is thrilled and relieved that all of our hard work has paid off,” he said.
Another player, Doc Mogford, said it’s been a dream come true.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said. “It’s super exciting to go there and be on TV and play your favorite sport.”
McAllister Park had been the only baseball program in the greater S.A. area to qualify for the LLWS with trips to Williamsport in 2009, 2012 and 2016.
Boerne joins McAllister on the list and has put together quite a run in 2024. They haven’t dropped a game in the postseason. They opened the district tournament with a 3-0 record and then went 4-0 at sectionals.
At the state tourney, they finished 3-0 and then at regionals went 4-0 and take a 14-0 record into Williamsport.
The national Little League organization pays for the airline flights for players and coaches and provides a dorm for them to stay in, while families must fend for themselves.
The team has a GoFundMe page and as of late this week they had raised close to $26,000.
The event lasts Aug. 14 – 25 and includes 10 U.S. teams from various regions around the country, while 10 international teams will be in attendance.
Boerne opens the LLWS on Thursday, Aug. 15, against the Mid-Atlantic Region winner at 6 p.m., and the games will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Boerne Little League Majors league is held at Northrup Park in the spring and is made up of eight teams. At the end of the regular season, a committee helped select all-stars from those eight teams and that is the group formed.
The rules are a little different in all-star play and each team bats 12 players per game and each game is six innings.
Boerne Little League President Chris Carey said their jerseys won’t say Boerne since they are the Texas West Champions and won the Southwest Region. They’ll wear red and orange uniforms that read “Southwest” on them.
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