Shorewood Little League reaches Midwest regional, falls just short of World Series

Ian Berry didn't want to use the word "Williamsport," so he called it "The Big W" instead. Even if the superstition didn't ultimately result in an unprecedented trip to the Little League World Series, the Shorewood Little League still made history by getting a chance to play at ... the small W?

Competing at the Little League Midwest Regional in Whitestown, Indiana, the group of 11- and 12-year-olds from Shorewood recorded a win over Webb City, Missouri, before falling in back-to-back games to Fargo, North Dakota, and Johnston, Iowa.

Wisconsin still has never advanced a team to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, since the establishment of the showcase in 1947. But the state-champion Hounds certainly gave it their best shot.

"The goal is to get a district title since we hadn't done that in 40 years," said Berry, president of the league. "Once we did that and you look at our scores, it was actually a pretty dominant run through the district, then you go to state and think, 'Sure, there's no reason we shouldn't be able to compete with the teams up there.' It was a wonderful ride but not shocking, because we know we have a talented group. The one thing you don't know at all is how we hang with these other state champions."

Shorewood's win in District 1 (covering southeastern Wisconsin) was the first for the organization since 1983. That sent the Hounds to Wausau, where the squad prevailed over Burlington in the championship game for the title, 2-1, after a 4-3 win in the semifinal against Wausau. In the semifinal, Shorewood rallied with three singles to win the game after going down to its final strike.

Appearing on ESPN, the Hounds staged a 5-2 win over Missouri at the regional in Indiana before a 16-2 loss to North Dakota, then a 2-0 loss to Iowa that resulted in elimination.

"They have 800 kids playing baseball in their Little League," Berry said of the Iowa program. "We have 150 to 170. We have to punch above our weight not only here locally, but certainly on that stage. They showed they were heavyweights, this group."

Shorewood's Little League features five teams at the 11-12 age level, with all-stars selected by players and coaches. All the players in the league live in Shorewood or attend Shorewood schools; two players received waivers because of previous affiliation with the league (including one player who joined during the COVID-19 pandemic when the future of his home league was shrouded in uncertainty).

Three years ago, Shorewood established the Hounds as an offshoot that could travel and play tournaments while not missing any regular-season Little League games. Winning the District 1 championship in southeastern Wisconsin was the team's first tournament victory of any kind.

"Over the past three years, they've kind of been knocking on the door and would get to a final or seemingly be on their way to a final, but things didn't work out in the end," Berry said. "They finally busted down the door in the District 1 tournament."

The team's four coaches (head manager Tommy Vollman, Tim Birkel, Demetri Douros and Jonathan Kowalski) have all been head coaches of a Shorewood all-star team in the past.

"From that standpoint, it was kind of a super-team of coaches, too," Berry said. "For coaches, you have to put aside your own ego at times because everyone has their own idea of how they want to do things, but they've been working together for a long time, so they were really in sync."

Shorewood often competes against programs like Glendale, which won the Wisconsin state title in 2019 and advanced to the Great Lakes Regional, and Whitefish Bay, the same community that just won the WIAA Division 1 state baseball championship. Elmbrook represented Wisconsin in 2021 and Kenosha in 2022.

Even without a trip to the Big W, the players came away with a major achievement and got to flash some dance moves on ESPN.

"They had the teams dance before the game," Berry said, referring to a cha-cha slide captured on camera. "I kind of thought that was a little silly seeing it on TV in the past, but being there in person, it makes a lot of sense. It takes a little bit of the edge off. You need a reminder that this is a game, and they should be having fun."

Members of the team included Mason Birkel, Ty Clark, Alex Douros, Evan Douros, Owen Dupee, Aaron Kleban, Levi Kolb, William Kowalski, Oliver Peltz, Avi Santambrogio, Hans Schmidt, Wesley Strohbusch and Ben Tautges.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Shorewood squad falls just short of Little League World Series