GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — A Texas youth baseball team came to the Gulf Coast to play ball, but ended up needing a water rescue.
Instead of spending the week locked in on baseball, the Parker County Pickles from Aledo, Texas, spent Thursday night watching the water creep closer and higher around their Airbnb in Gulfport.
The water crept closer and higher around their Airbnb in Gulfport.(WLOX)
“I walked outside, and the water was like, more than halfway to the house, and we’re on like stilts and stuff, and it was just crazy to me,” shortstop Paxton Peterson said.
Peterson came to the Coast for a tournament. But as remnants of Arthur pushed through, the situation changed fast.
“It happened so fast; like, it was overnight, and I just didn’t think it could ever be that crazy of a change,” Peterson said.
With players, parents and coaches stuck inside and water cutting off their way out, team mom Keri Volmert made a call to the Cajun Navy.
A Texas youth baseball team came to the Gulf Coast to play ball, but ended up needing a water rescue.(WLOX)
“The kids were calm the whole time; we got our stuff together, we got out, they knew what they were doing, and it was a very easy process,” Keri Volmert said.
For Peterson, it was a moment that stuck.
For shortstop Paxton Peterson, it was a moment that stuck.(WLOX)
“They didn’t have to come out there and do that, but they did, and they helped a ton of people,” Peterson said.
For head coach Larry Volmert, it was a situation he knows all too well in Texas, but this caught him off guard.
For head coach Larry Volmert, it was a situation he knows all too well in Texas, but this caught him off guard.(WLOX)
“We’re used to the weather and not knowing what’s going to go in what direction, but we weren’t expecting this,” Larry Volmert said.
Not long after the rescue, the Pickles still had to take the field, tired, soaked and rattled, but determined to play on.
“We were exhausted, but I think the relief took over the exhaustion,” Larry Volmert said.
Not long after the rescue, the Pickles still had to take the field, tired, soaked and rattled, but determined to play on.(WLOX)
For the players, the trip became something they’ll remember long after the final score.
“We still pushed through it and made it to where we are right now,” Peterson said.
“We’re good enough to go through that and get here,” outfielder William Henckell said.
For Coach Volmert, he says the experience taught them something bigger than the game itself.
“They have been through something that they’re gonna think about a long time. It was a neat experience to share this with them; scary, but I do think it brought them closer,” Volmert said.
The experience taught them something bigger than the game itself.(clear)
“We didn’t think we were gonna be here Friday morning, but we’re glad we’re here, and hopefully we’ll pull it out,” Volmert said.
The Pickles took a tough hit from the storm, but they stayed in the game, ready for the next pitch.
The Gulfport Fire Department helped the families after the rescue, including getting them to safety and checking on them afterward.
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