20 Years Ago – Lafayette Little League Advances to World Series
(KMDL-FM) The year was 2005. The month was August. It was a typically hot August for residents of South Louisiana, but for one group of elementary school students and their parents, it was a wonderful summer to be outside.
By outside, we mean at the baseball field. You see, it was in August 2005, just weeks before Hurricane Katrina would turn Louisiana on its ear, these 12 young men managed to captivate us all and remind us what the true joy of sports is all about.
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Up until August of 2005, a trip to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the Holy Grail of Little League Baseball, had been out of reach for teams from Lafayette. Granted, we've sent Little League Teams back to Williamsport a few times since 2005, but there is something special about the first time.
Who Was on the Lafayette Little League Team in 2005?
And there was something special about this team. It was made up of names, faces, and personalities that captivated the hearts of a national TV audience. Of course, here at home, we could only speculate what the future might bring. See if any of these names sound familiar to you.
Ryan Bergeron, Brenn Conrad, Alex Miller, Sam Scofield, Alex Stringer, Connor Toups, Jordan Romero, Patrick Foreman, and Tyler Douglas we integral pieces of the team. Each of them did their job, played their position, and most importantly lifted up their teammates when they needed it.
Perhaps a name many Ragin' Cajun Baseball fans will remember is Jace Conrad. Jace was on that team. He would become the University of Louisiana's first first-team All-American, leading the Cajuns to a number one national ranking back in 2014.
Also on that Lafayette Little League team were Andrew Stevenson and Jurickson Profar of Curacao; both of those players got to experience some time playing baseball at the major league level. Stevenson has spent time on rosters with the Washington Nationals as well as the Minnesota Twins.
Jurikson Profar is currently on the roster with the Atlanta Braves. He's also been on rosters for the Texas Rangers, the Oakland Athletics, the San Diego Padres, and the Colorado Rockies.
That team also introduced the South Louisiana sports world to the Duplantis family. Andreas played 3rd base on the Lafayette squad. You might recall his younger brothers were quite good at sports, too. Antoine because a star at LSU, and Armand is currently setting world records in the pole vault in track and field.
What Was Lafayette Little League's Record in the World Series in 2005?
Lafayette's storybook run to the Little League World Series did not have a fairytale ending. The team defeated Maine and Kentucky during pool play in the tournament while falling to the team from California.
After pool play, Lafayette was eventually eliminated by the team from Hawaii by a score of 2-0. Hawaii went on to win the championship that year.
When the Lafayette Little League team returned home from Williamsport, they were honored with a special ceremony at Tigue Moore Field. That ceremony took place on August 28th, 2005. The next day, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, putting a damper on the team and our town's celebration.
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