By Staff
Good luck to the Niles All-Stars as they begin competition in the Little League Central States Regional in Peru, Ill.
Niles, the state champions of Senior League Baseball in Michigan, will play their first game against Carroll County Little League, the state champions of Missouri.
The first game for the All-Stars is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The tournament continues through Wednesday.
Niles will actually take part in opening ceremonies tonight at 6 and then participate in the home run derby at 7 p.m.
A lot of hard work and effort has gone into getting to the regional tournament, which is one step shy of playing in the Senior League World Series in Bangor, Maine.
The effort wasn't just put in this season, but for many years now. Niles has just missed out on advancing to the regionals on several occasions.
Justin Stroud, Will Coar, Tyler Knisely, Tyler Jackson, Andrew Brawley, Jesse McCombs, Dan Reidenbach, Kevin Gross, Dominique Pompey, Ricky Briand, Taylor Ort, Cody Udell, Corey Johnson and Anthony Gladden have played baseball all their lives.
They have committed themselves to being the best they can be and that hard work and dedication is paying off this season.
Bill Coar manages the team. He and coaches Russ Johnson and Jack Ort have also worked hard to help these young men develop into district, sectional and state champions.
We would love to see Niles bring home that regional title as well and write their ticket to Maine.
But win or lose, we are extremely proud of them and we know that they will not only represent our community in a manor that makes us proud, but the entire state of Michigan.