On To State For Boys Of Summer
WARSAW – Summer is a state of mind for several Warsaw area baseball players.
The Warsaw Senior Little League baseball squad made it through a grueling District and Regional gauntlet and are now slated to participate in the Indiana State tournament beginning Tuesday in Wabash.
The roster, made up of 11 Warsaw Community High School and one Wawasee High School baseball players, advanced through the local levels by beating Mishawaka then Goshen twice at the District tournament then crushed South Bend South Side twice at the Regional last week, both games by run-rules. Warsaw is now scheduled to take part in the eight-team State Finals, playing three guaranteed games in pool play Tuesday through Thursday. Warsaw will first play Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., then at 5 p.m. Wednesday and 8 p.m. Thursday.
“These kids love the sport of baseball,” Warsaw head coach Jeff Fitzgerald said. “They love the camaraderie, and love to encourage each other as much as they like to hack on one another. They play well together and communicate well. I’ve coached a lot of these kids in little league now for six or seven years, they almost anticipate each other’s moves as long as they have been around each other.”
Fitzgerald was adamant that Warsaw’s run has been a collective effort, choosing not to single any one player out in any specific game.
“We’ve got a great group of kids,” Fitzgerald said. “The kids who stand out really are the selfless ones. Kids like Cole Baker, he shines like a dime. He doesn’t give up. He has a great attitude. We really have a whole team of kids like him. I could say that about any of them. We have had different kids step up in all the games we have played. To say one kid is carrying us would be wrong. They all are.”
The top two teams in each pool will advance to Friday’s semi-finals in hopes of reaching the State championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Wabash High School. Pool play will take place at both Wabash High School as well as the Wabash city park. Semi-finals will be held at Wabash High School.
The winner of the Indiana tournament will advance to the National Regionals, taking place in Peru, Ill.
“We’ve been telling the kids that what happened yesterday is done, you have to look forward to the next play or next game,” Fitzgerald said. “Just talking to them as a group, their heads are focused on winning Tuesday, then dealing with Wednesday and Thursday. We can’t celebrate one win. We have to take care of each day, then if we are fortunate, we can celebrate at the end of the week.”