HAGERSTOWN, Ind. — For the first time in a decade, Indiana is represented in the Little League World Series.
The Hagerstown Little League team earned the trip last week by winning the Great Lakes Regional tournament in Whitestown. It's the first time a team from the Hoosier State will play in Williamsport since nearby New Castle advanced in 2012.
A team from New Albany was credited with the 2014 Great Lakes Region title after a Chicago team that won the region was ruled to have used ineligible players. That New Albany team, however, did not play a game in Williamsport.
The Great Lakes Region is made up of teams from across Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. Hagerstown punched their ticket to the Little League World Series with a thrilling extra-innings win over a team from London, Ky.
The team is made up of 13 all-stars from the Hagerstown Little League program, though just 55 boys ages 11 and 12 played Little League in the western Wayne County town this year. That means a little over one-fifth of the entire Little League program will take the field in Williamsport.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Hagerstown is 1,681, by far the smallest locale represented in the U.S. bracket of the Little League World Series. By comparison, the next smallest community represented is Hollidaysburg, Penn., with a population of 5,641. Hagerstown's first-round opponent is from Davenport, Iowa, which has a population of 101,724. The Honolulu Little League is also playing in Williamsport, from a county with a population over 1 million people.
World Series results
The Little League World Series is made of two 10-team brackets - the U.S. bracket and an international tournament. The tournament is a double-elimination format, meaning teams keep playing until they have lost two games at Williamsport.
After winning their opening game, 8-7 over Davenport, Iowa, Hagerstown dropped a 5-2 decision in extra innings to a team from Nolensville, Tenn.
While Nolensville moves on to face Honolulu, Indiana's representative drops to the elimination bracket and will now have to win three games in as many days to reach the U.S. championship game.
That trek starts Tuesday at 3 p.m. (ESPN) against the team from Hollidaysburg, Pa. The Mid-Atlantic Region champions lost their first game of the tournament, but have won two straight games to keep their hopes alive.
The meeting will pair the teams from the smallest communities in the U.S. side of the tournament. The population of Hollidaysburg was recorded as a little over 5,600 in the 2020 census.
RELATED: See the 2022 LLWS bracket
The tournament concludes next weekend, with the championship games for both the U.S. and international bracket taking place Saturday, Aug. 27. The winners of those games will play the following day for the Little League World Series championship.
PHOTOS: Hagerstown at Little League World Series
The festivities started Monday afternoon, with the teams participating in the Grand Slam Parade through the streets of Williamsport.
Watch the team from Hagerstown pass by around the 1:19:40 mark of the video below:
This year marks the 75th Little League World Series, which has been played every year since 1947 except for 2020, which was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament was made up of only U.S. teams last year, also due to the pandemic.
Fundraiser for families
While the players' and coaches' trip is covered by the governing body of Little League, their parents and other family members have to pay their own way. Hagerstown Little League posted Friday that a fundraiser has been set up to help defray some of the costs so parents can travel to Pennsylvania to see their boys play in the World Series.
Donations can be made via Venmo, at any Three Rivers Credit Union location, or at The Logo Shoppe in Hagerstown, which is accepting in-person donations, as well as checks via mail to: The Logo Shoppe, 98 W. Main St., Hagerstown, IN 47346.