Watch CBS News

Taney's Wide Baseball Family Prepares To Root Team at Little League Semifinals

By Jim Melwert

 

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (CBS) -- Dozens of Taney baseball fans and players are on their way to Williamsport, Pa. to watch the Dragons in their US semifinal game against Nevada.

A charter bus packed with fans left this morning.  It's a big game for the Taney Dragons, as they hope to keep their winning ways.  A win punches Taney's ticket to the US finals game on Saturday.

These are exciting times for all the kids who play -– not just for this Little League team, but for all the other Taney teams.

"It's pretty cool to see to see my friends and Mo'ne playing in the Little League World Series," says eight-year-old Sidney, who plays second base.

And Drew Reidy, who plays third base with Taney's 13U team, says he's proud of this squad.

"Really awesome to see them on TV, because Taney used to not be that big, but now they're worldwide," he wisely observes.

Matthew Dannunzio, who also plays for one of Taney's baseball teams, says it's been so much fun watching this run.

"It's been fantastic," he said.  "I play for Taney and I know one of the kids -- he plays on my team."

 

dannunzio_matthew _
Taney Little League player Matthew Dannunzio prepares to root for his teammates and pitcher Mo'ne Davis. credit cbs

----

Matthew says it's just amazing to see kids he knows on television:

"I'm talking to my friends about them –- everyone's talking about them.  It's really cool."

And he says that when he pulls on his Taney baseball hat, it has a whole different meaning now:

"It feels great, yeah. It really does."

As for a prediction of today's game, Matthew says he's nervous about a tough Las Vegas team:

"Yeah, it's gonna be a tough game."

But, it's double-elimination: a loss wouldn't be the end of the road.  Taney would play a game in the loser's bracket tomorrow, and the winner of that game makes the US finals.

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.