Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds light and variable..
Mainly clear. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.
Andersyn, 11, Kristin, and Emma Lane, 7, get ice cream from the Simply Natural food truck at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Mid-Atlantic fans Chas Senft and Alicia Campbell cheer for their team at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
New England fans cheer for their team at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Jameson Sutton serves Stacey Vanstaalduinen at Anita’s food truck at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday.
Stacey Vanstaalduinen serves Mid-Atlantic fans Caitlyn Jackson, 10, Kinzlee Seaman, 10, Khylee Felgnhouer, 11, and Zaylee Seaman, 12, at Kona Ice's truck at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Paul Brafford gives ice cream from Simply Natural’s truck to Chloe Blair and Aubree Sky as Zach Willey orders ice cream for Piper Willey at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday.
Rhonda Hodges from Texas watches a game between the Mid-Atlantic team and New England team at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Fans cheer in the stands at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday.
Andrea Horvack, center, cheers for the New England team at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Andrea Horvack, center, cheers for the New England team at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Andersyn, 11, Kristin, and Emma Lane, 7, get ice cream from the Simply Natural food truck at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Mid-Atlantic fans Chas Senft and Alicia Campbell cheer for their team at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
New England fans cheer for their team at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Jameson Sutton serves Stacey Vanstaalduinen at Anita’s food truck at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday.
Stacey Vanstaalduinen serves Mid-Atlantic fans Caitlyn Jackson, 10, Kinzlee Seaman, 10, Khylee Felgnhouer, 11, and Zaylee Seaman, 12, at Kona Ice's truck at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Paul Brafford gives ice cream from Simply Natural’s truck to Chloe Blair and Aubree Sky as Zach Willey orders ice cream for Piper Willey at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday.
Rhonda Hodges from Texas watches a game between the Mid-Atlantic team and New England team at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Fans cheer in the stands at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday.
Andrea Horvack, center, cheers for the New England team at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Andrea Horvack, center, cheers for the New England team at the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
A softball championship is certainly the prime objective for fans and families at the Little League World Series, but many are finding time to slow down and appreciate Greenville between games.
The Mid-Atlantic Regional champions, representing Delmar, MD, had a team and family dinner on Tuesday night at Parker’s Barbecue on Memorial Drive prior to their Wednesday game against New England Regional champs from Milford, CT.
“There were probably like a hundred of us there,” said Dee Lehman, who counts herself as extended family. “It was awesome. I like how they did the family style with the bowls out, pass it down.”
Chas Senft and Alicia Campbell, whose respective daughters Audrey and Isabella play for the Delmar team, said they enjoyed the eastern N.C. barbecue at Parker’s as well as the staff. Billy Parker, owner of the area’s three Parker’s Barbecue locations, said that two other teams so far have stopped by the Memorial Drive location. He is honored to be part of people’s first impressions of Greenville.
“It’s a great opportunity to kind of love on them and welcome them to Greenville,” Parker said. “We get to give them an eastern Carolina flavor with the kind of barbecue we do. You have the Texas folks come in and, we don’t have brisket, but we do have eastern N.C. barbecue and they seem to love it and the Maryland folks seem to love it.”
For Parker, having the biggest event in Little League in his hometown where he is raising his family is “special” and the timing works perfectly as locals take their last-minute summer vacations. He said it is akin to the Little League Tournament of State Champions Greenville used to host but on an international scale.
“Its been a blessing for us,” Parker said. “This is a little shot in the arm before everybody starts staying in town when school starts back.
Maggie Haas, a bartender at Uptown Brewing Company, said that the venue saw a big uptick in business beginning Wednesday and Thursday, as teams arrived in town. In addition to parents popping in for a beer, the brewery held a private event for umpires over the weekend. She said that evenings have seen a steady stream of business and that she anticipates more to come as word of mouth spreads.
“It brings people from other places,” Haas said. “They get to know our beer and stuff. They know they can come to Greenville and have a really good brewery to go to.
“We have such a laid-back space and it’s perfect for small events and because ... the umpires chose to do it here as a small group, it brought our name out a little more to say “you all come here; they’re open until 10.”
Parker said that Little League is an important part of business in Greenville and Pitt County because of the hard work locally.
“It’s just a testament to how well our Little League system is run by Brian and Ann (Weingartz). Those folks are amazing. I don’t know when Brian sleeps. That guy is at the ballpark all the time and Ann has a full-time job but she’s still at Elm Street every day. Without those two people Greenville wouldn’t be Sportstown U.S.A.”
Parker underlined just how big Little League is in Greenville by saying that he can’t think of anywhere else that has a waiting list to sponsor teams, or to advertise at the main park. He said the wait list for team sponsorship is in the range of a decade, despite a broad field of 16 teams.
Parker’s was not the only restaurant to receive praise. Rhonda Hodges whose husband, Greg, is umpiring, said they had a chance to eat at Plaza Azteca. Hodges said that she and her husband also played a round of golf but could not recall the name of the course.
“I tried something new,” Hodges said. “It was good.”
Lehman also had a chance to try Simply Natural Creamery and Kona Ice, whose stands were at Stallings Stadium. Stacey Vanstaalduinen, a Kona Ice employee, said that evenings at the park are seeing nearly triple their normal business. Bailey Bryan, an employee at the creamery, said that between 500 and 600 people stopped by their stand on Tuesday night for ice cream.
Senft also said staff at the Holiday Inn has been very welcoming of parents and teams with Campbell acknowledging that any recreation is focused on the girls being together. So far that has included taking a dip in the hotel pool and a Sunday event at Sawyer’s Fun Park in Winterville as part of Little League and Greenville’s welcoming teams to the city.
“They like to hang as a team,” Campbell said of the Marylanders. “It has been a great experience.”
Hotel staff also received high marks from the Connecticut crowd. Andrea Horvack, mother of Sophia Horvack, took a breather between innings to clear her mind and gush on the southern hospitality as her daughter pitched against the Delmar team. She called the Hilton team very professional.
“We love our hotel,” Horvack said. “The food at the restaurant there, Julep, is incredible. It is farm to table. Everyone there has just been so amazing.”
Horvack also said many parents have explored East Carolina University’s campus where the teams are staying in the dormitories. She said she might make an expedition to Washington for some time at Goose Creek State Park later in the week as well.
Outdoor recreation was on other people’s agenda too, despite the high heat in the area. Visitors from Canada over the weekend made a drive to Atlantic Beach to see the ocean. Dustin Delucci from Seattle, Washington, said that he and other parents went fishing on the Tar River. During the city’s opening ceremony at the Town Common on Monday, girls had a chance to get in paddle boats to float on the Tar.
Contact Pat Gruner at pgruner@reflector.com and 329-9566.
The bases loaded, her team trailing 1-0, Macy Rickards asked the crowd for some energy.
www.Reflector.com 1150 Sugg Pkwy Greenville, NC 27834 Main Phone: 252-329-9500 Customer Care Phone: 252-329-9505
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