‘We were the underdogs going in’: Tacoma Little Leaguers stun Alabama in World Series opener

Tacoma’s Soundview Little League opened the Little League World Series with a 2-0 shutout of Phenix City, Alabama, on Wednesday, and the team’s parents are soaking it in.

Dan Huteson, whose son Smith is on the roster, joined “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio the morning after the win.

“Oh, my goodness, it’s so good to be in and talk to y’all. We’re riding high out here, y’all,” Huteson said. “The game, obviously, it was a nail-biter the whole way through. Just being a fan in the stands and being with all of our parents and community, we were literally representing our state and our community and yelling as loud as we can. Our pitching is just out of control, clutch hitting at the right times — guys, what a time!”

Soundview entered the game as underdogs against an Alabama team coached by former MLB player Colby Rasmus and featuring a standout female pitcher named Kinley who had dominated through regionals.

“We were the underdogs going in, but we knew what we had on our side of the fence that I think a lot of the country and the world didn’t realize that we had in our arsenal,” Huteson said. “We were all very excited, and we were all very encouraged at the fact of what we were going to handle, and just couldn’t wait to prove it to the rest of the world of what we got going on.”

Walking into the stadium for the first time

Huteson described the feeling of entering the stadium and watching the players hold their composure on the biggest stage of their lives.

“Walking into the stadium for the first time, again, is something that only a few get to experience,” Huteson said. “Seeing how much they’ve grown up and knowing that they’re on that stage, but still not letting the moment overcome them, was a cool experience.”

A photo of the Soundview Little League team from Tacoma at the Little League World Series. (Photo courtesy of Dan Huteson)

Gee gets nosy with the parent group

KIRO host Gee Scott skipped the standard sports questions and went straight for the parent dynamics, asking who the group’s unofficial social director, hype man, and team photographer are.

“Who is the parent that you text to find out where everybody’s hanging out?” Gee asked.

“Our head coach’s wife, Angie Yarborough, she is on it at all times,” Huteson said. “We’ve got a family chat through GameChanger as well, so questions get answered very, very quickly.”

Gee then asked which parent walks in and raises the energy.

“If it’s on the team itself, I’m definitely making my voice heard. I can tell you that much for sure,” Huteson said. “I’m not going to lie that I started a couple chants yesterday that, thank goodness, everybody was on board to be able to stand as well.”

As for the unofficial team photographer, Huteson explained everyone joins in.

“Everybody is so good about helping each other out,” he said. “We’re all just passing each other’s phones. I’m surprised I got mine back when it was all said and done.”

Next up: Texas on Friday

The win means Soundview now moves on to face the Southwest Region team from Boerne, Texas, at noon on Friday, a team that Huteson believes will be a tough test.

“Tomorrow’s going to be a battle,” Huteson said. “Texas is obviously a huge state, so they get two representatives. They’ve got three to four different pitchers that are dominant with pitch count in big game moments. They say their hitting is just top to bottom out of control, so we’re going to have a test for us tomorrow for sure.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.