Fargo 12U All-Stars Preparing for LLWS Midwest Regional
THE MIDWEST REGIONAL IN WHITESTOWN, INDIANA BEGINS FRIDAY, AUGUST 1.
FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – The Fargo 12U All-Stars are preparing for the Little League Baseball Midwest Regional Tournament this weekend. After winning the North Dakota Little League State Tournament, the team is heading to Whitestown, Indiana.
“It’s exciting but nervous at the same time,” said Eli Kalbus. “I’m really excited to just play, see the competition and see how far we can make it.”
It was just two summers ago that Fargo Youth Baseball sent a team to the Little League World Series, becoming the first North Dakota team to represent at the event. Now this year’s team hopes to become the second, but as the old adage goes, it’s one game at a time.
“Everybody wants to kind of put the cart before the horse a little bit and say, oh, what if we get there?” said head coach Hans Anderson. “It’s like, no, no, we got to win a bunch of ball games first. If we could [reach the World Series], that’d be great, but I’m always one game at a time. I’m the old adage of a coach, you know? So, we just keep working hard and enjoy the ride as we go.”
The reward for winning the Midwest Regional is a trip to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the Little League World Series, an event watched by millions on ESPN. A stage these kids have dreamed about competing on.
“I think we have a shot to go all the way to the League World Series,” said James Shih. “That’d be the best thing. That’d be so cool. I’ve been dreaming of [playing in the LLWS] since I watched my first Little League World Series…the one two years ago when Fargo went, and I want to recreate that.”
The road to the Little League World Series for this team starts with a game against Minnesota on Friday.
“I keep telling [the team to] just be ourselves,” said coach Anderson. “Do what we’ve been doing. We pitch the ball pretty well. We play good defense. Hitting is starting to come around. Situationally, we’ve been a lot better. But, you know, just go out there and play good baseball. Don’t beat ourselves and be true to yourselves. Be a good team, and everything will be just fine.”
North Dakota vs. Minnesota is Friday, August 1 at 9 A.M. The game will stream on ESPN+.
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