Courtesy of KMTV
The Hastings Little League made it to the Midwest Regional after a very successful season. After beating an Iowa team in the Midwest Regional, the Hastings team was ready to tackle the World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
The team made history by becoming the second Nebraska team ever to make it to the LLWS. It was the first time the Hastings team was the Nebraska representative.
Their first game was against New Jersey. Hastings kicked off the game with a 2-0 lead. They took the win with a score of 5-2, and the team was ready to battle their next opponent.
This summer, Little League player Owen Ablott got to play a lot of baseball in an exciting stadium.
“It was really cool because there were a lot of people there, and it was a cool atmosphere,” Ablott said.
Hastings played against a tough opponent: Hawaii. Hawaii led the first five innings 3-0. Hunter Nepple hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning, which tied the game. Hawaii scored a whopping eight runs in the seventh inning to win the game. The score was 11-3 and Hastings joined the loser’s bracket.
The Hastings team played Washington next in the loser’s bracket. Hastings won 3-2, and were excited to keep playing. The team was not quite ready to go home.
The Little League players had sources of entertainment while staying in Pennsylvania.
“There were ping pong tables, we swam, and there were four practice fields at the hotel,” Ablott said.
Hastings played Texas after surviving against Washington. Texas built a lead early, and at the end of the game, they obtained most of their runs. Texas knocked off Hastings winning 10-0, but the team had many things to be proud of.
“I was pretty nervous, because when I was younger I would always watch the Little League World Series,” Ablott said, “and I never thought that I would be there.”
When the team returned, Hastings hosted a parade to celebrate the many victories.
“I did not know that there were that many people in our community that supported us and were watching us,” Ablott said.
During the parade, the Hastings community welcomed the team back and showed how proud they were of the Little League.
“When we were going into this, our goal was to win the state competition. In our minds, we never expected to win regionals,” Ablott said.
