A team from Urbandale was welcomed home on Sunday night after winning the Senior League World Series in Bangor, Maine on Saturday with a 7-2 victory over a team from Hawaii in the championship game. It is the first time a team from Iowa has won the title.
Coach John Hoberg says, “Good things happen to good people. These are all fine young gentlemen and they’re deserving of this, because they worked hard and believed in each other.” He says dominant starting pitching was the biggest key. He says every night the had a guy step up and he says everything else fell into place. In fact the pitching was so strong that Hoberg only needed to go the bullpen in one of their games. Of the six games they used three pitchers in their first game and then they had complete games throughout. Hoberg says you could tell the difference when the other teams had to pitch players on less rest.
It is the second time in three years at team from Urbandale has played in the series. Catcher Kelly Waddell says it caps a Little League career that began for the players at the tee ball level, saying “It’s the most unbelieveable thing I’ve ever felt.”