MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Southeast team during the National Anthem.

Randy Huth did the math and ran the odds. And he still cannot comprehend the achievement.

Nolensville, Tennessee Little League is competing at the Little League World Series. Again. It’s become like a broken record as the Southeast champions played their first Series game Friday, becoming just the second U.S. team to ever reach the Series three straight years.

And considering the degree of difficulty, Nolensville’s run is truly unprecedented since Lock Haven is the only other league to make it three straight years when it played in the first three Series from 1947-49 when Little League was just starting up. Add in Nolensville residing in the same district as 2012 national champion and 2016 U.S. runner-up Goodlettsville while having to navigate a nasty Southeast field, and this achievement truly is hard to fathom.

“It doesn’t make sense. It’s impossible statistically you when you think of being one out of 6,500 leagues. It feels like it’s a zero percent chance to get here once, but to do it three times is like a negative percent,” Huth said. “It’s special. It’s hard to comprehend, but it’s a great experience and I’m so happy for the players, the parents, the league and the community.”

Stella Weaver is the first Nolensville girl to play Little League baseball there and the 22nd Series history to play in South Williamsport. Grayson May and Nash Carter are the 41st and 42nd players to compete at the Series in consecutive years as well.

Obviously, there is a lot of history surrounding Nolensville.

“Each of the players exhibit excellence and hard work,” Nolensville mayor Hallie Galik said. “It is empowering to see not just the players, but the entire Nolensville community support each member of the team.”

“It’s just something you don’t expect to happen,” Nolensville Little League president Dave Jones said. “It’s amazing what they have been able to accomplish.”

That goes double when one considers Nolensville did not field a league until the 2000s. Almost immediately, though, the league enjoyed success and reached the Series in 2013 and 2014 when it went as South Nashville Little League.

Like most leagues, though, the Series is a happy bonus. When Jones took over as president his primary goal was not building a perennial powerhouse, but fostering a league and a culture which encouraged kids to love the game and want to stay with the league. At a time when there are so many non-sports options and several other baseball routes one can take, that was a tall task but it has been mission accomplished with numbers increasing each year.

Obviously, the numbers go hand in hand with the league’s winning success, but even before the Southeast championship three-peat, the league was doing well. Over the last decade, District 7 in Tennessee basically has been run by a dual monarchy between Nolensville and Goodlettsville. What started out as modest goals has fostered something historic and the league likely will only continue thriving following this latest run.

“The primary goal was building a program where the kids wouldn’t want to leave and now, nine years later, we’ve won three straight regional championships. That, by far, has exceeded my expectations originally set,” Jones said. “A lot of the members at the time had kids who were aging out of Little League, so we were basically starting from scratch, so we started with getting board members who had kids at the younger levels and told them if you help, this will be rewarding for you and rewarding for the town and the program. It definitely has been all that.”

It also helps having coaches who stay on whether they have kids or not; or whether their children have aged out of Little League. Huth has not had a kid on any of the last three qualifiers and fellow coach Chris Mercado, the manager of the 2013-14 teams, has not coached any sons during his four appearances. That combination of passion for teaching and for the Nolensville community has helped the league keep achieving things which at one point felt impossible.

For the previous 73 years, an American team reaching three straight Series was impossible. It’s not like high school or college where teams can have their players for four years at a time. Most of the Little League all-stars are 12, so for so many, it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And while Nolensville has a returning duo of players for a second straight year, it primarily has fielded three completely different teams these past three years.

That makes this run stand out even more. Goodlettsville took a game from Nolensville in districts before Nolensville exacted revenge in the championship. Georgia handed Nolensville a loss at regionals, but as it did in 2021, Nolensville came thundering back, avenged that defeat and downed previously unbeaten Florida to earn its third straight Series berth. At every stop along the way, opponents were aiming to take down Nolensville but none could derail its date with history.

“I would love to say that I thought this would happen and you want it to happen, but the fact that it did happen is incredible. I have no words,” Huth said. “I will tell you that it’s just like the very first time because it’s a whole new group of kids. You get to see it through their eyes and it’s really exciting to see them get excited about it and for me to be able to help give them that opportunity.”

Huth will be coaching again next year and already is excited about the younger groups which will be moving up. Reaching the Series is incredibly hard, but those future players know that it is not some far-fetched dream. It’s something tangible, something attainable in their eyes because they have witnessed siblings and/or friends do it.

Time will tell what the future holds, but right now is about savoring the present. Reaching the Series one time is a remarkable achievement and something which any league will forever cherish. Doing it three times?

That’s something which may never happen again … although Nolensville will have fun trying next year extending its streak.

“To see the joy on this puts on the kids’ faces and for the parents and the community is really special. I don’t think it’s like that everywhere but our little town has embraced us and truly been behind us,” Huth said. “I truly hope they enjoy this experience and tell their kids and grandkids about how much fun they had together. It’s not about what they did on the field or what their record was, but about cherishing being together and bringing the community together.”

Again.