FOLK —  As part of Folk Ballpark’s 50th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Carter Bexten got an opportunity that his father, Jeremy, believes may never come again: playing on the same field that was such a big part of his childhood.

“Carter’s first and probably only chance to ever play at Folk,” Jeremy said. “The field that I played on my entire life, he gets to play here tonight. So that’s really cool.”

Carter was joining players he didn’t necessarily know, and Jeremy wasn’t concerned about what position he played or how much time he received.

That was not important, though. Jeremy just wanted him to have fun, especially after the whirlwind summer he had with his son and Brooks Boehm of Westphalia.

The Daniel Boone Little League 12U All-Star team’s run through the postseason didn’t end where they hoped.

It nevertheless took them somewhere few young baseball players ever get to go.

After winning the Missouri Little League state championship, Daniel Boone advanced to the Midwest Region Tournament in Whitestown, Ind., where television cameras, ESPN coverage and some of the best Little League teams in the region awaited.

For Carter, the son of Folk native and Daniel Boone coach Jeremy Bexten, the magnitude of the stage created some nerves.

“It was definitely nerve-wracking, all the cameras and ESPN being there, but it wasn’t bad,” Carter said.

Brooks experienced some of the same feelings early in the tournament, but the Westphalia youngster said they didn’t last. “At the start,” he said, before eventually deciding, “Okay, I’m just gonna have to get used to it.”

And he did.

The regional experience also turned out to involve considerably more than baseball.

With off days built into the tournament, the players had opportunities to enjoy themselves away from the field, including a trip to a water park and visits to a nearby batting cage and another complex. Carter also enjoyed seeing the tournament facility and the various companies surrounding the event, including sporting-goods and GameChanger representatives who provided players with merchandise.

“It was awesome,” Carter said. “It was pretty cool.”

The accommodations created another experience altogether.

Jeremy said all 13 regional teams stayed in the same hotel, with each team’s three coaches responsible for approximately 13 players.

“It was stressful for me. It was super stressful,” Jeremy said. “It was more kids than adults in this entire hotel.”

The players, naturally, had a somewhat different perspective.

“The kids loved it,” Jeremy said. “The kids didn’t know any different. They were just having a blast. The adults were stressing out, pulling their hair out, but it was great.”

Once Daniel Boone reached the field, the surroundings were unlike anything the players had experienced at home.

Jeremy compared the natural-grass playing surface to a golf course fairway, with grass approximately a half-inch high and virtually no bare patches or rough spots.

“The field was immaculate,” he said. “I’ve never played baseball on a golf course, and that’s what this was like ... It was incredible.”

The trip also became another step in the development of both local players.

Carter believes he finished the season a considerably better player than he was when it began, crediting not only the regional experience but his travel-ball season as well.

“I thought I made a lot of progress,” Carter said. “I feel like a much better ball player now than what I was going into the season.”

The greatest improvement, he believes, came at the plate.

“Probably my hitting,” Carter said. “My hitting got really better. Fielding also got better, but really my hitting.”

Brooks saw development in different areas.

He said his communication with teammates improved significantly, particularly in recognizing situations and helping direct players defensively. He also became better at reading balls in the outfield.

On the mound, Brooks credited his coaches with helping him while acknowledging that he still has room to improve.

“I learned a lot more from coaches,” Brooks said. “They helped me a lot when pitching.”

Some of that development continued after the games ended.

Back at the hotel, Daniel Boone gathered in a conference room and watched its games again, breaking down plays and looking for mistakes and areas that could be improved.

“We watch all of our games in the conference room, and we look at our plays and stuff every game,” Brooks said.

Carter found the video especially useful for examining his swing and defensive play.

“I saw how I was on my front foot or doing something wrong with my swing, or what I did if I made an error,” he said. “It really helped watching back.”

There was another benefit.

“It also was really cool seeing myself on TV,” Carter said.

The ESPN broadcasts provided their share of entertainment for the players as well. Carter said the team joked about how players’ heights were displayed, while Brooks particularly appreciated hearing the broadcasters recognize the support he receives from his mother, Jessie.

“They shouted out my mom about how much she helps me and stuff a lot,” Brooks said.

For Jeremy, however, the tournament’s conclusion left some lingering thoughts about how close Daniel Boone might have been to an even larger stage.

He believes a lengthy rain delay against Iowa changed the complexion of a game in which Daniel Boone had established momentum.

“I think we probably beat Iowa if it wasn’t for that four-and-a-half-hour rain delay,” Jeremy said. “I really do. We had all the momentum.”

What stayed with him afterward wasn’t simply the loss.

Jeremy watched Iowa players receive extensive attention on ESPN and couldn’t help thinking about what the same exposure might have meant for one of his players had Daniel Boone advanced farther.

“If we’re in that championship game, if we’re playing in Williamsport, then we’re the ones being talked about,” he said, imagining Carter, Brooks, or one of their teammates receiving that national recognition. “Those kids played incredibly well.”

Still, the regional tournament gave Daniel Boone’s players something considerably more lasting than a television mention.

They represented Missouri, competed on a stage most 12-year-olds will never experience, lived together as a team, and discovered what it felt like to have ESPN cameras following their games.

For Carter, the summer also eventually brought baseball back to where Jeremy’s own story began.

Jeremy grew up directly across from the Folk ballpark and spent much of his childhood playing there. During Saturday’s final youth game, Jeremy’s advice to his son was considerably simpler.

“Just go out there and have fun,” Jeremy said. “Whatever you get to do, whatever you get to play, just go have fun and be part of this field that helped me grow up.”

For a summer that carried Carter and Brooks from Missouri champions to the Midwest regional stage, that was a fitting place for one more baseball game on the field where Jeremy’s own love of the game began.

As part of the day’s festivities at Folk, youth action began with two Osage Elite softball teams facing off, followed by an Osage Indians 9U vs. 10U game, and then the Folk Sluggers vs. the Osage Indians 13U team.

WW Custom Side Jobs defeated Sinquefield in men’s softball action, and “Past Our Prime” beat the Woehr team. “Past Our Prime”emerged victorious over WW Custom Side Jobs to end the night.

A look at the history of the ballpark will appear in an upcoming issue.