WESTFIELD, Ind. — The Coon Rapids-Andover American Little League baseball team is heading to the Little League World Series.
Facing Iowa in the Midwest Regional Championship, Minnesota fell behind 5-1 at one point during the early stages of the game, but rallied to tie the game in the sixth inning.
That's when Jameson Kuznia connected on a three-run homer to give Minnesota the lead for good.
"It was just crazy because we had so many fans cheering and yelling out loud," Kuznia, 12, said.
KARE 11 spoke to Kuznia and manager Greg Bloom Sunday night after they arrived in Williamsport, Pa. The team left Indiana Sunday morning.
"It's been awesome. Still trying to wrap my head around it," Bloom said. "Timberwolves and Lynx coaches have sent messages to the team. Twins have reached out."
Kuznia said his social media has been blowing up. He said this week he's looking forward to "having fun, meeting other people and just getting to know them."
The Coon Rapids-Andover American Little League team is the first from Minnesota to advance to the Little League World Series since Plymouth-New Hope in 2010.
"We thought we had a good team to make it. We did. We thought we had the talent and it was just our job to work as a team to get there. We had a feeling it could happen," Bloom said.
The Coon Rapids-Andover team won 8-6 and will represent the Midwest in Williamsport, Pa. at the Little League World Series, which begins August 15.
They play against Kentucky on Thursday. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT) and will air on ESPN2.
