‘From a good baseball team to legends’

WELLMAN - Lights and sirens escorted the Mid-Prairie Baseball team out of Washington County on Sunday, headed to Des Moines for the state tournament.

For the first time in 13 years, the Mid-Prairie High School Baseball team has become a state qualifier. The kids were just toddlers the last time Mid-Prairie qualified, but head junior varsity coach Kyle Mullet said going to state has been their goal since the freshman year of the now juniors.

'That junior class has had a goal of coming out to state,” Mullet said. 'As freshman, calling it up in the huddle, they used to call it up to state and their journey has been going since then.”

Sunday afternoon, there was a send-off at the baseball field. Despite the heat, many community members showed up to support the team. The players were announced and a small game was played asking the players to guess which fun fact matched which player.

'He was very close to failing PE his eighth-grade year for refusing to participate.”

After a few moments, it was announced as team Ccaptain Brad Tornow, eliciting laughs from the players.

Team co-captains Tornow and Brody Miller said the team started out slow but battled back to where they are now.

'We comin',” Miller said.

Head Coach Andy Greiner said Wednesday night around 9:15 p.m. the group of boys went from being a good baseball team to legends.

'They're sick of hearing about the 2007, the 2006, the 2004, they're sick of it,” Greiner said. 'Now we get to talk about them.”

During a send-off on Sunday, the team captains and coaches thanked the community for its support and said they are excited to see them in Des Moines.

Jay Strickland, assistant junior varsity coach and high school principal, said they talk about being tough, battling with adversity and pushing through it, and this group has done that all year.

'We're looking forward to kicking some butt tomorrow at Principal Park,”

Terry Kroemer is one of the bus drivers who traveled with the boys throughout the season and now will take them to state. He said the season has been exciting.

Colton Hobbs' grandparents attended the send-off and will be at the game on Monday.

Kay and Pat Langenberg said Hobbs has been playing baseball since he was little and is excited.

Kay said the season has been fun, and the boys have worked hard. All of the kids have grown up together, and it's been a goal to make it this far, Kay said.

Pat was an umpire for 25 years and said it is a good group of kids.

'For a team that's organized and hardworking, it's paying off, Pat said.

Greiner said at Principal Field on Monday, they're looking to pay well and play some Mid-Prairie baseball” just like they have been doing the entire month of July.

'Were looking one game at a time, and we're going to move on from there,” Greiner said. 'Go Hawks.”