Next stop for Stella Weaver, Nolensville Little League fellas: Little League World Series

History is her story. History is their story, too.

"Stella and the fellas," they've been pronounced: A dozen 11- and-12-year-olds who make up the Nolensville Little League All-Star team that RSVP'd for the Little League World Series party next week in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with a 4-1 victory late Tuesday night against Florida in the Southeast Region final in Warner Robins, Georgia.

Stella is Stella Weaver, a 5-foot-8, pigtailed, 68 mph fastball-throwing girl who strikes out boys and hits home runs. She's also the first female player in the history of Nolensville Little League Baseball. The 11 fellas are her teammates: Jace Barney, Turner Blalock, Nash Carter, Corbin Cyphers, Carter Gomillion, Grayson May, Kale McCarty, Lucas McCauley, Ty McKenzie II, Gideon Shepler and Jackson Tabor.

Along with manager Randy Huth and his coaching staff, the group teamed up to make history when they became the first program to reach the World Series in three consecutive seasons. According to Little League, about 2 million boys and girls play in Little League organizations around the world.

These 12 kids from middle Tennessee made it. Despite the odds, not to mention the fact that the Nolensville program reached South Williamsport the previous two seasons, Weaver has been a believer since she was chosen to be a part of the team earlier this summer.

Still, this reality is something that was difficult for her to imagine.

"That would be crazy," Weaver told The Tennessean when asked during the state tournament in late June whether she had imagined going to the World Series. "Coach Randy always says there's going to be thousands of people there just to watch you. It would be crazy if we go."

The team is scheduled to leave Thursday morning for the nearly 800-mile bus ride to Pennsylvania, eight days before their first scheduled game, which is 2 p.m. CST on Aug. 18.

For Carter and May, the trip will be old hat. Both boys played on the team that finished fourth in last year's series. Not so coincidentally, they also were the winning pitchers in Nolensville's final two games of the region tournament this year.

Carter had no idea that his first trip last year wouldn't be his last.

"It's more exciting this year because there's less people who have gone there twice," he said after Tuesday's victory. "And our coach is the first coach who's gone there three years in a row.

"I've tried to think about going back there."

May might have had the same thoughts, but he tried not to get ahead of himself. Now he plans to enjoy the rest of the ride and try to help his team win more baseball games along the way.

"Not many players have been there two times in a row," he said Tuesday. "And not many teams have had a girl on their team."

There was another reason for May's excitement.

"I only got to play center field last year," he said. "Now I can pitch. I had a hurt arm last year."

"I'm just so proud of these guys," Huth said when asked about Carter and May. "To do what we just did . . . They have ice in their veins. I don't know if that comes from having done it a year prior, but look at them. We put both of them in our biggest two games of the year. Both of them stepped up."

On Tuesday night, about 100 miles southeast of Atlanta, "Mission: Nearly Impossible" became "Mission: Possible."

The mission continues next week.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: 'We just made history': How Nolensville celebrated 'impossible' Little League World Series berth

GIRL JUST WANTS TO HAVE FUN: Nolensville Little League has its own Mo'ne Davis. A gas-throwing girl named Stella Weaver

READ ALL ABOUT IT: Little League World Series 2023: Full bracket, schedule for Nolensville, Tennessee

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nolensville Little League, Stella Weaver have eyes on more history at LLWS