The crowd, the cameras, the game, the emotions. From hitting an inside-the-park home run in front of 3,000 people to falling just a run short. Seventh grader Owen Luke and the Seattle Little League World Series team fought their way through the tournament to finish third place in the United States.
“It was pretty stressful but super fun at the same time,” Luke said.
The increasing fan support was a major change that Luke found to be more stressful than one might imagine. With that being said, the attention he got from signing autographs and taking photos with fans was easily the most fun for him.
“It really stood out just because it felt like we were getting noticed finally,” Luke said.
Baseball has always been important to Luke.
“I’ve been playing baseball for seven years, so it’s a pretty big part of my life,” Luke said. “My dad and grandpa played in high school and college, and my mom and sister love playing softball.”
When the Washington champs arrived in San Bernardino, California for Northwest regionals play, they immediately showed their dominance, beating Oregon 12-0.
One of the long-standing traditions at regionals is trading gifts from your hometown with another team.
“We traded gifts with the Oregon team since they were our first game,” Luke said. “We gave them Seahawks gear, and then they gave us Oregon Beavers gear.”
“We had to make the state proud,” Luke said, “and still do better than they did last year.”
The team went on to take down Alaska in back-to-back games. Luke even came in to close out the first game, not allowing a hit and striking out two in just one inning.
“Pitching was definitely the most fun,” Luke said. “Just being in front of a crowd and representing your team was super cool,” Luke said.
Yet Luke seemed to benefit from the crowd’s pressure.
“The pressure of being in the spotlight helped my confidence,” Luke said.
In the second game against Alaska, he led the team with a double and a two run inside-the-park home run en route to another victory.
Luke and his team claimed victory over the Northeast team the next game, in which he knocked in a clutch score in the third inning.
“It was a really stressful at bat because it was our first game representing the whole Northwest,” Luke said. “So ending up with a hit was relieving.”
After beating Southwest 6-2 the first time, Seattle lost a close, one-run game the second time around. Although, Luke certainly provided his fair share of fight, pitching two shutout innings, only allowing one hit. However, the team lost again against West, eliminating them from the tournament.
Despite the tough loss, Luke describes the game as his favorite.
“Knowing they won it all and we only lost by one is a pretty great feeling,” Luke said.
No matter how stressful the moment might have been, Luke and his team were ready.
“Don’t pay attention to the crowd, just play the way you did to get to where you are and stay that way,” Luke said.
Next year, Luke will no longer be with the same team, as he ages out of the 12-year-old age limit. This spring, Luke will be joining the middle school baseball team.