The Sioux Falls Little League team is one game away from the World Series in Williamsport, Penn.
Sioux Falls rallied from four runs down to defeat Webb City, Mo. 6-5 earlier today at the Central Region Tournament in Westfield, Ind.
Webb City got out to an early 5-0 lead, but Sioux Falls manager Jeff Riley says he was confident that his team would rally.
Sioux Falls came back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth with hits from Cohen Henry and Marcus Phillips, and won the game later in the inning.
Riley says the team has received an enormous number of support from the community:
“I’ve heard from friends that I haven’t heard from in ten years. We’re getting text messages from phone numbers that we don’t know who they are. It’s just been great. The mayor’s reached out to us, news stations all over the place and wanting to talk with the kids. All the parents here, and all the players, we can’t thank everyone back home enough for all the support. It’s been overwhelming, to be honest with you,” Riley says.
Sioux Falls plays the winner of the semifinal game between Johnston, Iowa and Kearney, Nebraska on Saturday morning at 10 Central.
ESPN will televise the game for a national audience. Riley says his players have completed interviews with the network that will air during the broadcast.