MILWAUKEE — A youth baseball team from Whitefish Bay is making Wisconsin history as they prepare to compete on the national stage this weekend.
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The U13 Whitefish Bay baseball team has become the first Wisconsin team ever to advance to the Intermediate World Series out of the central region.
"We have a complete team. We have a lot of speed, and we have a very good defense. We are very deep in pitching," said Kyle Fox, head coach of the team.
One of the big stars on the team is their ace pitcher, Josh Irwin. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound pitcher has an 80-mile-per-hour fastball. Irwin threw a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the championship game against Taylor, Michigan, that secured their World Series berth.
"It was a big challenge; this is our first time making it past the state. We've had a lot of close calls; I believe we've lost it three times. So, it was a big relief to get past state this year," said Irwin.
Watch: Whitefish Bay baseball team makes Wisconsin history, heads to World Series
"Iowa was a big test, and we got through," Irwin said.
The achievement means a lot to the players who have grown up together.
"It's just been really fun. Just playing with people I've known since elementary school, when I was around 9 or 10. Growing up with them. Just playing baseball, having fun, is the most important thing," said Teddy Dickerson.
First baseman Hudson Fox shared similar sentiments about the team's journey.
"This is a very special moment for us because last year we came up short in the state. This year we really wanted to make it farther and we accomplished that it farther than our original goal. We're trying to go all the way now," said Fox.
The team leaves for California on Friday morning.
"The kids are excited. We fly out Friday morning, 6:20 a.m., get into San Francisco, get picked up, brought back to our hotel, Coach Fox said. "We get special uniforms for the kids, we get media day with ESPN. Plus because all of the games will be televised on ESPN Plus."
This story was reported on-air by Rod Burks and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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