The Sioux Falls Little League team competed in the Little League World Series throughout late August, representing South Dakota—and doing it with great honor.

The Little League players’ ages range from 10 to 12 years old, but that did not stop them from making history. The boys had a long journey spending the majority of their summers training, practicing and competing against teams from all around the country. The team’s hard work paid off by fighting their way to the Little League World Series. The competition was held in South Williamsport, Pa. at the Howard J Lamade Stadium, the same place it has been held since 1947.

When the opposing teams saw the Sioux Falls boys from across the diamond, they knew the game would be a tough battle to come out on top. Gavin Weir, a name recently popularized, belongs to a 12-year-old pitcher who competed in the World Series on the Sioux Falls team. Weir contributed greatly to the success of the Sioux Falls team, pitching seven no-hitter games throughout the entirety of the season, two of them being thrown throughout the duration of the World Series, a very impressive accomplishment in the baseball world. Weir was unstoppable, making the Sioux Falls team the only team in the history of the Little League World Series to ever throw a no-hitter game. But their success was truly a team effort. 

An asset to the Sioux Falls team was their determination to stay focused on the game they were playing, not the ones ahead of them or the mistakes they had made before. In the game against California, the team and coaching staff had a tough choice to make. Weir was nearing the limit of his permitted pitches, but this game was a no-hitter so far. Therefore, coach Mike Gorsett had a crucial choice to make. Would he keep Weir in or take him out, saving his pitching abilities for the potential future game on the following Sunday? Gorsett trusted the team to pick up where Weir left off and bring them to success.

“You’re not coming out of this game,” said Gorsett to Weir at the game. “I’ve got all the confidence in the world that the rest of this pitching staff can do the job,” According to the Argus Leader.

Many different celebrities and well known organizations recognized the Sioux Falls team such as The Minnesota Twins, the Sioux Falls Canaries and even Patrick Mahomes. They were featured on various news channels both nationally and locally, but also the amount of support from the Sioux Falls community was extreme. 

In the end, the boys landed in fourth place, in a defeat against Ohio in the semifinals, but they did not go down without a fight. Sioux Falls played a total of five games in the tournament. Although the boys may have not come out on top, that does not take away from the experience that they will never forget.