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PTC baseball squad bound for World Series

Challenger League All-Stars need help funding trip

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

An All-Star team from Peachtree City’s Challenger League is going where no local team has gone before: to the Little League World Series.

The PTC squad will face off against a team from Frederick, Md. in an exhibition game Saturday, Aug. 27, just before the U.S. championship game on the main field in Williamsport, Penn. They’re used to playing in front of crowds up to 100, but they will play in front of thousands at the LLWS.

Organizers Nick Harris and Michael Bird said the trip is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Challenger League kids, each of whom is classified as a special needs child. The league held its inaugural season at the Field of Hope in Peachtree City last year, and this is another profile-raising event that Harris and Bird hope will lead to hosting the Little League “Southeast weekend” of Challenger competitions.

A fundraiser is underway to help pay for the trip to Williamsport, and several companies and groups have pitched in already, including Peachtree City’s Rotary and Kiwanis clubs, Cooper Lighting, Panasonic, Peachtree CIty Little League, the Atlanta Braves Foundation, Fayette Sports and the Jane Miller family.

Although accommodations are already worked out, the group is trying to secure air transportation to Williamsport. Organizers also hope to acquire limousines to take the 12 kids and their parents to the airport.

This is a special trip, and they want to make the Challenger participants feel just as normal as any other kid, Harris noted.

“The Little League World Series is a premier event,” Harris said. “This is it, this is the big time.”

A large sendoff event for the community is planned for the night before the team leaves for the trip, Bird said. The time and place have not yet been finalized.

Although the biggest thing that can help now is a cash donation, the team is also in need of the little things that will make the trip special, such as disposable cameras to record their memories, Harris said.

A total of 73 kids in the area are involved in the Challenger League at the Field of Hope, which features a rubberized surface that “plays” easier for children who use walkers, wheelchairs and other mobility devices.

The All-Star team will get new red, white and blue uniforms for the trip in addition to their own personalized equipment bags and also travel bags for the flight, Harris said.

The squad will also exchange gifts with their counterparts from Maryland, Harris noted.

Donation checks may be made payable to the Field of Hope and sent to Harris at 203 Kentwood Dr., Peachtree City. For more information, contact Bird at 770-716-8293 during the day or via e-mail at mbird@bna.com. Harris may be contacted at 770-289-0396 or 678-364-8588 or e-mailed at parentme@bellsouth.net.