WEST BOYNTON ALL-STARS PLAY FOR NATIONAL TITLE TODAY
West Boynton All-Stars rally to qualify for championship round.
A team of little league all-stars from suburban Boynton Beach is headed to the national championship Saturday in the 2018 Intermediate Little League World Series in Livermore, California.
The West Boynton All-Stars defeated a team from Midland, Texas, 10-9, in extra innings to advance to the championship round.
The team’s manager, Michael Staie, said the team — boys and one girl — fought hard to overcome a 5-run deficit in the quarterfinal.
“We were down 7-2 early in the game, but these kids just kept pushing and battling,” he said. “We tied it up in the bottom of the seventh, and then finished it up in the eighth.”
The team from West Boynton will now face the tournament’s host, the Livermore Little League All-Stars, on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT for the national title.
If they win, they will play for a world title on Sunday, against the winner between the South Korean and Puerto Rican all-star teams.
“This is a dream come true for eleven 13-year-olds,” Staie said.
On Friday, the players were going through what Staie called the “ESPN interview experience.”
“The reality of it is really starting to set in for a lot of them,” he said.
Staie added that the team, whose motto for the season has been “Cole Strong,” in honor of a teammate who has been battling leukemia, got a boost for their first game when Cole Malone flew cross-country to watch them play.
“Cole surprised his buddies, he and his dad and brother showed up just in time on Monday for our first game,” Staie said. “That really pumped the team up.”
As for their chances against Livermore on Saturday, Staie is sticking to the baseball tradition of being a little superstitious.
“I don’t want to jinx us,” he said. “They’re a good ball club, and they’re on a roll.”
Staie added, however, that no matter how good the opposing team is, it doesn’t change how badly the kids from West Boynton want to emerge victorious.
“These kids want to win, you can just look at them and tell,” he said. “Hopefully we can bring this trophy home to West Boynton.”
The national championship game will be broadcast on the ESPN+ app on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
The team got a boost when Cole Malone flew crosscountry to watch them play their first game. Cole has been battling leukemia, and the team’s motto this season has been “Cole Strong.”