Illinois Valley enjoys ‘weeklong celebration’ of baseball at Senior League World Series – shawlocal.com

Espen McFadden had never flown before this summer, but baseball gave him the opportunity to get on a plane as he and his Illinois Valley Senior League teammates qualified for the World Series in Easley, South Carolina.

Illinois Valley was the first District 20 team to advance to the World Series.

“It was like a dream,” McFadden said. “It was so fun. We wanted to do this since the beginning of the season. We were so excited we won [the Central Region Tournament in Peru]. All our family, our parents and grandparents, were so excited for us.

“I’ve never flown before. I’ve never been more than maybe five hours from home. I was just excited to come meet new people and play baseball in a different state. We didn’t play well, but we came and enjoyed the moment.”

Illinois Valley coach Lance Siebert called the World Series “an incredible weeklong celebration of baseball with a great group of kids and coaches.”

Aside from playing the games, the Illinois Valley team took a tour of Clemson University’s athletic facilities, filmed intros for the ESPN+ broadcasts, competed with the other teams in nonbaseball competition and a talent contest and interacted with teams from around the country and world.

McFadden said the IV players were nervous for the ESPN intros.

“We had never done this before and we were all nervous,” McFadden said. “It took us a couple times, but we got it on our third time.”

The Illinois Valley players enjoyed hanging out with the Hawaiian team in the hotel. McFadden said the Texas team was nice, as well.

“Everyone here is just great,” McFadden said. “They’re amazing.”

Siebert said the teams got along well.

“You could feel the respect and curiosity between players, coaches and families,” Siebert said. “Everyone was extremely friendly, and the sportsmanship displayed by everyone was outstanding.”

Illinois Valley lost its opening game 9-0 to Southeast before being eliminated with an 11-1 loss to South Carolina District 1.

“We practiced a couple days out here, and the experience was so nice,” McFadden said. “The fields are beautiful. The grass is very nice and short. It’s like a golf course. We were all excited to play our first game. The atmosphere out here is great. The energy is so good.

“The competition was good. The other teams had pretty good pitching. We knew coming in we were going to face better players, better defense, and if we made mistakes, they were going to make us pay. We made a couple mistakes, and it hurt us. We didn’t play our kind of baseball. If we had, I think we had a chance to beat the teams we played.”

While the games didn’t turn out as hoped, Siebert said the way the IV players handled themselves and the team’s chemistry will stick with him.

“The moments that will stick with me is how our guys carried themselves at every practice, every warmup and every inning,” Siebert said. “They showed a level of maturity and togetherness that made our whole community proud.

“I’ll also remember the way our players connected with each other off the field, whether it was late-night team meals, hanging out at the hotel or the way they rallied around each other after a tough inning and kept battling regardless of the score. The chemistry this team had was as special as anything that happened on the field.”

McFadden and his teammates, who returned home Thursday, appreciated the support they received from the Illinois Valley community.

“I love the fans. They’re just great,” McFadden said. “I had people texting me after our first game. Looking at Facebook, everyone was wishing us good luck. The parade for us [after the Central Region title] game, all the players were so happy.

“Everyone was so proud. We’re so happy. We just love all our fans. We can’t thank everybody enough.”

The World Series is scheduled to end Saturday with the U.S. champion facing the international champion in the title game at 3 p.m. on ESPN+.