Elma honors it's all-stars ahead of Little League West Regional
Jul. 19—A few days ahead of their opening game at the Little League West Regional in Arizona, the Washington state-champion Elma Intermediate all-stars got a proper send-off from the East County community.
Led by a police and firefighter escort, the Eagles were honored with a parade through town and a ceremony honoring the team at Lloyd Murrey Park on Tuesday in Elma.
"I want to thank everybody here," Elma head coach Mike Lisle said to the dozens on hand after what has been a whirlwind few days since claiming the state title with a pair of wins over Bellevue National on Saturday. "You made this happen."
Indeed it did, as the community pulled together in the few short days after the victory to raise more than $30,000 to send 11 players and three coaches to Nogales, Arizona for up to 10 days of tournament festivities, meaning the first Grays Harbor County team to reach a Little League regional tournament is funded to do so.
"It was quick," Coach Lisle said of the fundraising efforts. "We heard about 10 p.m. Saturday night, 'Oh, by the way, none of this is paid for and everything has to be figured out.' So we quickly got on the horn with the board and started working our way out and the community just rallied. We're so thankful for it. It has been a wild couple of days. I don't think I've got off my phone."
On Tuesday, the town honored its all-stars with a parade that started at Elma Elementary School, rolled down Main Street then north on 11th Street to Murrey Park, where throngs of friends, family members, former players and fans greeted the team with cheers and congratulations.
"This turnout was so huge and it represents just how much the community came together to make this happen," Coach Lisle said. "We know it's not just Elma that helped contribute. We know it's the surrounding communities that helped too. ... We just appreciate all the support and hope to represent Grays Harbor County and Elma well while we're down there."
The adulation is duly deserved, as the Eagles have gone 24-2 in its games this season and have outscored its opponents 49-19 in seven tournament games across District 3 and state playoffs.
In the state tournament, Elma hit .317 as a team with 52 stolen bases, sported a .938 fielding percentage and had a pitching staff that held opposing teams to a .223 batting average.
Elma is the first District 3 team to reach the Little League West Regional since Chehalis advanced in 2005 and only the second district team to do so since 1965.
Elma's Junior all-stars won the state title in 2021, but due to COVID, no regional and/or World Series tournament was played that season.
Some of the players from the 2021 squad were on hand to congratulate the current crop of Elma all-stars, and Coach Lisle was sure to bring those players on to the field so the crowd could acknowledge them as well.
Elma is scheduled to begin its West Regional play against Oregon at 5 p.m. on Friday followed by games against Southern California, Hawaii and Arizona.
The Eagles found out they will be wearing their home "Elma" jerseys at the event.
"We're proud to show that we're from Elma," Coach Lisle said to the crowd.
The regional champion will represent the West region at the World Series scheduled to begin on July 30 at Max Baer Park in Livermore, California, with games broadcast on the ESPN-plus service.
Coach Lisle said he expects his players will remember the trip to Arizona regardless of the outcome.
"They're getting excited," he said of his team. "We just got to get down there, get them prepared and get a couple of practices in, hopefully, and get ready to compete because it's going to be a big stage. ... I think it's something they'll never forget. I told them before (the parade), 'Hey guys, you realize you are one of the top 50 13-year old teams in the country? If we keep going further, that number will keep climbing.' ... That's kind of cool to realize. ... We're going to go down there and compete, do our best, have fun and make sure they enjoy it."
