This is one of those cases where just participating is a huge win. Puyallp’s South Hill Little League team will make its World Series debut Friday afternoon.
“You try to put yourself in the right spots to give them the right opportunities,” South Hill coach Derek Jennings told KIRO Newsradio. “You have to have so much luck and just be in the right place at the right time. And you can’t really put that into words.”
Jennings said it was the hardest thing he’s ever done, especially because his son Rawly plays for the team.
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“I watch ESPN and then I see my son and the guys he’s with and he’s trading pins with them,” Jennings said. “It’s something you can’t explain. I don’t think you know. It’s going to take weeks for it to really, really sink in.”
The team’s big moment came in an unlikely way. Last Thursday, Puyallup was trailing 6-5 against Idaho in the sixth and final inning of the Northwest Region championship game. With two outs and the score 0-2, Rawly hit a double down the left field line, beginning a comeback that ended with a 13-7 victory and a berth in the World Series in Williamsport, PA.
“Our guys took great advantage of it and struck while the iron was hot,” he said.
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South Hill faces an impressive Southeast Florida team on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. on ESPN, the final game of the day.
“Good bats, good arms,” Jennings said. “They’re a quality team that plays well. They’re one of the favorites down here.”
Jennings explained that the team has been in Williamsport for a few days to get used to the environment and he believes this will help his team in the first game.
“So there’s going to be some fear and nervousness that our guys are going to have to shake off early,” he explained. “Hopefully we can put that behind us early. And when this is all over, it’s baseball for 12-year-olds, so anything can happen.”
Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, Here and send him an email here.
