COURTESY OF JENNA WARFORD

HUNTERTOWN – Earning a spot in any World Series tournament is a big deal! Recently, boys ages eight to 11 on the Huntertown Lions 10u travel baseball team qualified for an unexpected invitation to the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) World Series. The tournament is July 13 – 16 in Westfield, just north of Indianapolis.

“Our boys are a Single-A (classification), first-year, travel team,” Jenna Warford, parent, said. “They went from basically losing consistently and beating themselves up, to turning it around and winning game after game. We just won a tournament in Columbia City, and they got first place.” Warford is mom to team member Parker Warford.

“This is the first time that any travel team through Huntertown has made it to state or any USSSA Single-A classification, World Series,” she said.

“Westfield is a qualifying tournament. Teams have to place first in many different tournaments. It’s not something that very many people get the opportunity to go do,” Nick Small, head coach, Huntertown 10u travel baseball team, said.

“Two weeks ago, we placed first in a Columbia City tournament. We won all four games beating out six teams,” Small said. Adding, “That qualified us for state.”

Apparently, the strategy of learning how to work together to consistently win games, and qualifying for the USSSA World Series was the easy part for the boys. Now, money for lodging and other expenses needs to be raised in a very short time, so the team, coaches and parents can attend the event.

The tight fundraising timeline is due to winning a qualifying event so late in the season and getting the invitation from USSSA just the previous week, Small said. Additionally, a tighter budget and not raising the registration fees when children join the local Huntertown team at the beginning of the season contributed to the current need for fundraising.

“We went through a lot of budget cuts this year due to rising costs. By the time we got the invitation to go we just didn’t have the funds,” Small said.

Small has been coaching at Huntertown for three years. This is his second year coaching the travel team.

“The best thing about coaching is watching them learn and watching them grow. It’s kind of amazing to watch kids at the beginning of the season and see what they turn into by the end of the season,” he said.

The end of a winning season coupled with a coveted invitation to the USSSA World Series has spurred at least one parent to action. Warford’s goal is to help the kids get to Westfield.

“This is a life-changing experience for them. They went from losing every single game to turning around their attitudes and working through their issues,” Warford said.

“I am trying to get the word out that we do have these young men who are playing baseball. This is their one opportunity to go, and now we can’t afford to go,” she said.

Not surprisingly, lodging accommodations are scarce in the area due to the tournament hosting several hundred participants. Overnight lodging for the event varies depending on the location and the night.

Weeknights are somewhat affordable, but weekend rates can be seven times higher per night, Warford said.

“We finally found a Red Roof Inn in the area that will host us for $400 per family,” she said.

The boys are together two to three times a week. They are like family to us. We are genuinely trying to help our families be able to at least afford lodging,” Warford said.

The group is expected to leave for USSSA World Series tournament July 12, Small said.

If you decide to make a donation to the Huntertown Lions 10u travel baseball team to help them go to the USSSA World Series

• Donations can be accepted through Venmo. The online address is @HuntertownLions 10u

• Or donations can be made by calling Jenna Warford at 260-715-7503

• Donations can also be made at Momma’s Last Thread on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Mommaslastthread