SPOKANE, Wash. — There aren’t many ten-year-old baseball players better than the Spokane Dirtbags.
“We’ve been really working hard and it’s been paying off,” catcher Josiah Lutz said.
The Dirtbags won the All-City Championship and became the first Spokane team in recent memory to represent Washington state at the Pony West Zone Regional in Southern California.
“These kids are really going to get to experience something that’s a childhood dream,” head coach Robert Mueller said.
The runs are a plenty, but money for the trip is in short supply.
“We’re looking at about $13 to $15,000 to get these kids down to California,” assistant coach Nick Beirl said.
Unlike many competitive teams, the Dirtbags aren’t a pay to play program. Every spot on the team is earned and every dollar raised goes to jerseys, equipment and tournament fees.
“We want to make sure that every kid, no matter whatever economic status they come from, has the ability to play at the level they belong at,” Beirl said. “That shouldn’t relegate them to cheaper leagues and less competitive leagues just because their parents or families can’t afford it.”
The expensive trip would provide priceless memories for these future all-stars.
“It’s like we’re in the MLB,” catcher Preston Piper said.
“Win, loss, whatever happens, just the ability to say I was a state champion of Washington and I got to go represent my state on a massive scale, I don’t know if there is words for that,” Beirl said.
The Pony West Zone Regional is scheduled for July 18-21.
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