Lake Mary, Windermere Little Leaguers advance in state tournament amid sweltering heat

Lake Mary, Windermere Little Leaguers advance in state tournament

The Lake Mary Little League team is one step closer to defending its title, delivering a dominant 19-0 shutout Friday night as the Florida state tournament got underway under sweltering conditions in Melbourne.

LAKE MARY, Fla. - The Lake Mary Little League team is one step closer to defending its title, delivering a dominant 19-0 shutout Friday night as the Florida state tournament got underway under sweltering conditions in Melbourne.

What we know:

The Lake Mary All Stars won the Little League World Series last year and this weekend they’re hoping to get one step closer to making that dream a reality again.

The Little League State Tournament is underway in Melbourne this weekend as Florida teams compete for the state championship.  On Friday, Lake Mary had a shutout win, 19-0. Windermere also won 11-6.

Not only did the young baseball players have to beat their opposing teams, they also had to beat the heat.

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The heat index in Melbourne was 101 degrees on Friday and the heat continues through the tournament weekend. The state championship game is on Sunday at 10 a.m. at Tim Wakefield Park.

What they're saying:

People in the stands were trying to keep cool.

"We had a lot of ice water, a lot of ice, and we stayed in the shade," said Micah Baham.

Parents were also making sure their kids were hydrated."Make sure he’s hydrated, prepare the night before, and just make sure we keep those bottles coming," said Little League Mom Zulema Anderson.

The backstory:

Lake Mary won the Little League World Series in 2024. There is a new team this year, but their returning manager, Jonathan Anderson, has confidence in these young boys.

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"This is a long journey with several small goals inside of the bigger journey, so we are chipping away one goal at a time," said Anderson.