Hinsdale Little League getting ready for Little League World Series debut
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There has been little time off for the Hinsdale Little League team since punching their ticket to the Little League World Series.
Hinsdale beat the Little Leaguers from Jasper, Indiana on a walk-off hit in extra innings on Wednesday to win the Great Lakes Region championship and advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Coach Chad Wanless said, after spending a few days in Williamsport, the team has been able to sit back and realize how great their comeback win was and what the accomplished.
"I think we're finally starting to really enjoy it a little bit," Wanless said.
This is the first Little League World Series for Hinsdale, and Wanless said the kids deserve all the credit.
"They play together. They are incredibly talented. They have worked so hard. They're playing for each other. They've known each other for a long time, and they're playing for each other," he said.
Outfielder Michael Kipnis, who drove in the tying run against Jasper to send the Great Lakes Region championship game to extra innings, described what it was like in that pivotal at-bat.
"I heard the fans and all of my teammates encouraging me. I knew I needed to get this hit," he said.
Wanless said it wasn't surprising to see Kipnis deliver the game-tying hit.
"He's an incredibly clutch kid. I was just elated for him, but at the same time we had to balance that excitement, because it was a tie game. We still had to go out and play, stay focused, and deliver the win after we went into extra innings," he said.
Hinsdale had their first extended practice over the weekend, and their first game is set for Friday.
"It is truly an unbelievable experience. These kids are being treated … it's going to be hard to get them home, and get them back into normal life, the way they're treated out here. And I think it's even gonna get bigger as the fans start arriving," Wanless said.