SAMMAMISH, Wash. — Eastlake Little League players are riding high after winning their opening game at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn.
Thursday they beat the team from Corpus Christi, Texas, 8 to 4.
"It was just amazing for the team to win on that nice of a field in front of that big of a stadium in front of that many people," said Will Armbruester, who pitched a scoreless 4th inning.
He's one of 14 other players on the team. They are all 12 and 13 years old.
The team has been playing since June, beating out teams across the state and the region to make it as one of the 16 best teams in the world.
"It was just really fun just working with this great group of guys and it really paid off once we won state. And we didn't really think we were going to go all the way but once we're in that championship and we already beat that team we were really excited and we really wanted to get here," said Armbruester.
Assistant coach Matt Fitzgibbons said even winning the first game is a big accomplishment for the team.
"To actually get a win in a game against a really tough Texas team was a really great accomplishment for these guys here. They're a tough team to beat and they're showing up when they need to," said Fitzgibbons.
To prepare for Sunday's game against Westport, Conn., the team has been holding batting practices.
However, Fitzgibbons said it's still important not to put too much pressure on the players.
"There's a lot of teams that are here for this tournament, they're practicing three times a day. Even the Japanese team they're doing 5-mile runs every morning and they're doing two or three practices every day. We stick with our routine, which keep things loose. The boys know what they're doing between the chalk they know how to play baseball pretty well and we're not a track team so we stick with the batting practice, keep the bats loose, keep the attitudes loose," said Fitzgibbons.
But make no mistake; the team hopes to win it all.
“We're going to win for you guys!” said Armbruester.
Eastlake will play Westport, CT on Sunday at 11 a.m. PST.
Fans will also hold a watch party at the Sammamish EX3 Teen Center on Sunday.
KIRO
