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William Satinoff and Jack Rhodes have taken on dual roles this all-star season. They are tremendous baseball players who ignite a potent Nolensville, Tennessee offense, but they also are so much more.
They are leaders, teachers and calming influences. Rare is reaching the Little League World Series. Even rarer is living the dream twice.
Satinoff and Rhodes are doing just that, becoming two of only 43 players to reach the Series twice. Not surprisingly, they have been vital to the team's strong start at the Series, producing 10 combined hits, playing error-less defense, providing stellar pitching and coming up clutch in the team's first three victories.
A year after Nolensville went 0-2, Satinoff and Rhodes have helped the 2022 team become the greatest in league history. Both played huge roles Monday when Nolensville defeated Indiana, 5-2, in seven innings, becoming the first Nolensville team to win three games at the Series. It also is guaranteed a top three finish in the United States entering tonight's winner's bracket final against Hawaii.
"I feel like kind of a veteran, so I know what's coming," Rhodes said after going 4 for 4 in Friday's 11-2 win against Utah. "My job is to help prepare all the other teammates to get ready for what's coming."
"I learned not to get nervous up there," Satinoff said following his 2 for 3 performance which included three RBIs in a 5-3 win over Massachusetts. "You have to stay loose and just be confident on defense and on offense."
Ask manager Randy Huth about the difference between last year's and this year's Nolensville champions and he will tell you it is the experience his two leaders provide. Everything was new for the 2021 team. Those Southeast champions were a super team, but suffered a heartbreaking extra-inning loss in their Series opener against eventual finalist Ohio before losing to New Hampshire and finishing 0-2.
Having two players experiencing everything this Little Leaguer's dream event has to offer has been a huge asset the second time around. Satinoff and Rhodes have done it all here, so all the things which could become distractions are not. They know how to approach the event and the games and, because of that, so do their teammates.
"Compared to last year, we weren't nervous. Last year we were nervous because we had no experience. This year it helps having two players that have been here before, with Jack and Satti. It's different for me to tell the kids one thing; it's another for their friends and peers and teammates to say something," Huth said. "Those guys have stepped up as leaders and say, 'Here's what we can expect, here's what we're going to do.'"
So good have Satinoff and Rhodes been at covering all aspects that they even addressed one of the most important items before arriving in South Williamsport. Not many 12-year-olds would expect to get inundated with autograph requests, but Satinoff and Rhodes know the drill. They know that once they reach the Series, everyone on the team is treated like a Major Leaguer and must be ready to provide autographs ... a lot.
So, before Nolensville arrived at the Series, Satinoff and Rhodes had all their teammates practicing their signatures. It was time well spent as the victories have made these exceptional players even more popular.
"That's something where it's like, 'Who would have thought of that?'" Huth said. "They're comparing the whole way up until we get here and I think it's pretty special to have that veteran leadership."
Satinoff's and Rhodes talk the talk, but also walk the walk. They set the tone in the first two victories. Nolensville had never won its opening game in three previous Series appearances, but both players produced two hits against Massachusetts as the 2022 team made history.
Two days later, Satinoff and Rhodes opened the game with a walk and single, respectively. Nolensville scored four runs that inning and cruised to another win.
Satinoff also played fantastic defense at shortstop that game and closed it out on the mound with 2 1/3 hitless innings of pitching. Rhodes was flawless behind the plate and the talented catcher helped stop a Utah rally in the fourth inning with a snap throw to second base.
They then showed off their amazing talent and heart in Monday's thriller against Indiana. Both delivered huge performances under the most intense of pressure after Indiana tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth and had the bases loaded with no outs.
Indiana looked like it had this game, but Nolensville had Rhodes and Satinoff. Pitching for the first time since regionals, Rhodes struck out the next two batters and retired the final six he faced, fanning four.
"Who do you want on the mound but your best?" Huth said. "When I went to the mound after they got the bases loaded I said, 'You can get us nine strikes and get us out of this thing and we can go in and win the game.'"
Rhodes did what he was told. He struck out the next two batters and then watched as Satinoff ended the Indiana threat in breathtaking fashion. Clark Thornburg hit an absolute rocket into the hole between shortstop and third base. It looked like a sure walk-off hit.
Instead, Satinoff went flying through the air and somehow made an amazing catch, snagging the ball inches before it hit the ground. It was not just the play of the game, but the play of the Series. Satinoff then reached first to lead off the seventh and Rhodes hit the go-ahead RBI single.
Satinoff's play likely will be replayed for years on television and at the Series. It was one any Major Leaguer would be envious.
It also was just Satinoff being Satinoff.
"If there's one person on the field, we want them to hit the ball to in that moment it's definitely Satti. He's done that for us for two years," Huth said. "That catch right there, obviously it saves the game, but it's something we've kind of come to expect from him. He's just that good. He's one of the best in the country, there's no question about that."
So is Rhodes.
Rhodes finished the Utah game 4 for 4 and scored three times. It was an outstanding performance but the most impressive aspect of it came afterward. Asked to elaborate on his big game, Rhodes sounded like a long-time Major League veteran:
"I just try not think about how I went 4 for 4. I try to think about the next at-bat and what's coming next," Rhodes said. "I don't care about the last at-bat. It's in the past. There's nothing you can to change it whether it's good or bad so I just try to focus on my next at-bat and what I can do help my team win."
All Huth could do is smile as Rhodes provided his answer. In one answer, Rhodes summed up how his entire team approaches the game. It was a perfect representation of who this team was and why Satinoff and Rhodes have become perfect leaders.
"I think every coach wishes he had guys like that. It's so different. It's like having two extra coaches. Satty and Jack, the experience they had last year had us so much more ready for this year. But even before that, they're mature for their age" Huth said. "They're both excellent players and you just heard it. The way they react to things, they have short memories. We move really quick after something whether good or bad. We're on to the next one.
"It's amazing. It makes me proud to hear him say that. I didn't put those words in his mouth."
The perspective both Satinoff and Rhodes provide allows Nolensville to play great, but also have fun. Their intelligence and understanding of things have enabled each player to understand how special these moments are in their lives. That translates to the players as well.
The result is a team playing relentlessly hard, but also looking around, soaking in all this event has to offer and having the time of their lives. It is the perfect blend provided by Nolensville's perfect tag team.
"There's going to be a lot of people there so you can't let that overwhelm you. You just have to act like no one is there and play your hardest and play your best because this is a once in a lifetime experience. You'll never get this again," Rhodes said before pausing and realizing his situation. "Well, some of us won't, but basically take in every moment of it because you never know when it might be your last. Take every moment in and play your hardest."
Nolensville players have heeded that advice all summer and that has made it the most decorated team in this decorated league's history.
Looks like they might be signing those autographs for quite some time.
"Ever since last year ended, those two said they were ready. They were like, 'We're coming back and we're winning this thing,'" Huth said. "No matter what happens, what those kids have done is special. There were only 40 players who went to the Little League World Series twice and they make it 41 and 42.
"To say they went twice in a lifetime is mind boggling."