Cole at Pearland Little League celebration: 'We are so proud of these young men'

The City of Pearland treated Pearland Little League (PLL) to a community celebration on Thursday in recognition of its Little League World Series (LLWS) run, according to reports from Houston-based media outlets. 

PLL fell a game short of competing for the U.S. championship, but that didn’t stop northern Brazoria County city from beaming with pride over what the boys had accomplished. 

“We are so proud of these young men,” Pearland Mayor Kevin Cole said at the celebration held at Independence Park, Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported. “They are the best ambassadors that our city could ever do and they were on the national stage, the world stage.”

The Little Leaguers earned a trip to the international youth baseball tournament in Williamsport, Pennsylvania by virtue of clinching the Southwest Regional championship in Waco.

The team became media darlings after a viral video showed PLL hurler Kaiden “Bubs” Shelton engaging in an act of sportsmanship with a player from the team representing Tulsa, Oklahoma, per Houston Daily.

PLL, designated as Texas East in the LLWS, rode a pristine winning streak into the double-elimination tournament.

After opening with an 8-3 win over Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Pearland was demoted to the losers bracket after dropping a 6-0 contest to Hawaii but reeled off two more wins before it lost to Nolensville, Tennessee, Little League.

KPRC reported that Cole proclaimed Thursday “Pearland Little League Day” during the welcome home party.

“We just hope it just is an inspiration to a lot of these young kids in the community that more and more kids will play Pearland Little League, that it will just give them something to shoot for and goals to go after,” PLL coach Aaron Cummings said, per the station.

The LLWS will go down as a memorable experience for the players.

“Just getting to walk around The Grove and just watch baseball games and be there was crazy,” PLL second baseman/pitcher Jackson Wolfe said, Houston CW affiliate KIAH reported. “But playing on the field was even better.”

The preteen added that his favorite memory from the tournament was a double play that helped Pearland secure its win over Hollidaysburg, according to KIAH.