ROAD TRIP(S)

LAKEWOOD RANCH — What began as a simple two-hour drive from Orlando back to Lakewood Ranch proved to be anything but ordinary for sixth-graders Parker Shanahan and Zach Rodgers and fifth-graders Connor Knapp and Ollie Kightlinger.

The Rawlings Gators teammates, in the midst of competing in the 10-and-under diamond division of the 2010 AAU National Baseball Championships at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, had just finished a doubleheader and were on their way back home to compete in the District 26 9- and 10-year-old Little League All-Star Tournament later that evening.

Only the All-Star games didn’t quite go as planned. In fact, they didn’t even happen because inclement weather led to the cancellation of all three All-Star games July 28.

But rather than settling in at home for a night of movies, video games and junk food, the four boys hit the road again and headed back up to Orlando to make it back in time for their second-consecutive double header the following day.

The trip was both disappointing and exhausting for the players — and it wouldn’t be the only time the teammates would leave the National Baseball Championships early only to find out their All-Star games had either been cancelled or postponed.

In a six-day span, Shanahan, Rodgers, Knapp and Kightlinger traveled 1,100 miles back-and-forth between Orlando and Lakewood Ranch while playing in 13 games — eight for the Rawlings Gators and five for their respective All-Star teams.

“It was crazy going back and forth,” said Shanahan, who played for the Manatee East Little League All-Stars.

Knapp, who also played for Manatee East, agreed.

“I was (disappointed) because while our teammates were playing, we came all the way here for nothing,” he said.

The players’ journey back-and-forth across the state began June 26 when they spent the morning playing in the All-Star Tournament. That afternoon, the boys piled into the car and traveled up to Orlando for the Opening Ceremonies of the National Baseball Championships, marking the first time the team had ever competed in the tournament.

“It was awesome,” said Rodgers, who played for the North River National Little League All-Stars. “Just the whole experience was cool. The Opening Ceremonies were cool. They put up the AAU flag, and it was at the Spring Training field of the Atlanta Braves, so we got to walk out and were introduced on the JumboTron.”

Kightlinger, who played for the Braden River Little League All-Stars, agreed.

“I enjoyed playing teams from around the nation,” he said.

On June 27, the Gators teammates opened pool play with a 15-2 victory over Aguilas. The following day, the players competed in a double header, defeating the Tampa Titans 15-9 before falling to the Houston Wranglers 8-4. And it was later that evening that the players exhausting road trip would officially begin.

After traveling home to Lakewood Ranch only to find their All-Star games had been cancelled, the boys returned to Orlando in time for the second round of pool play June 29. The Gators fell to the Central Florida Legends 8-5 and the Piranaz 13-3 in their second-consecutive doubleheader.

Although Shanahan, Knapp, Rodgers and Kightlinger only made it through two pitches in the second game before the four All-Stars packed up their bats and gloves to head back to Lakewood Ranch.

“The hardest part about traveling back and forth was that I wanted to play every game, but we would have to leave early and then wake up early,” Shanahan said.

“It wore me out,” Rodgers added. “It’s just hard on your body playing three games — one at night and then two games in Orlando — and then we went back to Manatee East and then we’d have to head back up to Orlando.”

It was the fourth time in four days that the players had traveled between Orlando and Lakewood Ranch. By that point the inside jokes, music and spur-of-the-moment dances, which the boys had been using to pass the time, began to lose their appeal.

“One time I got so bored I brought my iPod,” Shanahan said.

But aside from their digital devices, the players had nothing but each other to keep them occupied.

“There was no entertainment in the car, so we would have to make up our own,” Knapp said.

The players returned home to Lakewood Ranch only to find out their All-Star games had been canceled for the second-consecutive night — or at least that’s what they thought. As the foursome prepared to travel back up to Orlando to prepare for their AAU game the following morning, the players were told their All-Star game had been moved to GT Bray and would start later that evening.

It was well after midnight by the time the All-Star games were finished and the boys settled in for another road trip to Orlando. The players played in their final pool play game — a 4-1 loss to the Texas Tide — June 30 and then prepared to make another trip back home — only to have to turn around again later that evening after finding out their All-Star games had been canceled.

By this point, the players had become all too familiar with the possibility that they could be traveling two hours for nothing.

“They were too tired to be disappointed,” coach Ken Shanahan said. “We just put it on auto pilot. The weather is out of our control, so we just focused on getting as many fluids pumped into the kids as we could. We had some fun during the rain delays though — it was a really great experience.”

The players wrapped up their whirlwind tour back-and-forth across the state July 1. After finishing 2-4 in pool play, the Gators moved on to the single elimination bracket where they won their opener — a 6-3 decision over the Lake Worth Canes — before falling 9-8 to the eventual runner-up Houston Wranglers.

“They loved it,” Ken Shanahan said. “They has so much fun and the thing that stands out looking back on it now is just how bad my car smelled that week with all of the muddy bat bags, sneakers and wet balls.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].