SALEM, Ore. — The Sprague Little League team has the distinction of being the first team from Salem to make the World Series and the 7th from Oregon.
The team consists of 11- and 12-year-olds.
"He gets his catcher's gear on and he's in his comfort zone and he has a baseball IQ that you wouldn't expect an 11-year-old to have," said Kelsey Wilson, whose son Riley is the team's catcher.
"I'm just so proud," Riley's dad, Andy, said. "It's what he loves. There's nothing in the world he'd rather be doing, so to see that all come true for him just puts a smile on my face and a tear in my eye."
The team beat Couer d'Alene 5-4 in the regional final on Saturday.
"It's huge, I know there's been a huge outpouring of community support," said Sprague Little League president, Tony Strenke.
Strenke's son Brady plays right field and pitcher for the team.
"This is something different, this is incredible."
After their regional win, the team headed straight to Williamsport, Pennsylvania and to reward them for their hard work, the team is getting all new gear.
Riley's mom Kelsey says it's like Christmas in August.
They got jerseys, hats, cleats, socks, belts, helmets, batting gloves, after lunch they were going to the bat lab to get fitted for new Easton bats," she said. The bats are brand new and haven't been released.
No matter how the team does, they are guaranteed at least three games.
The team's travel is already paid for, but it's expensive for the parent's to go so a couple of parents have organized a GoFundMe account to help cover those costs.
The team's first game is Friday against the Mid-Atlantic team. View the bracket