The Wellington Colts Little League baseball team is about to embark on its second national championship journey in two years.
Last year, the Colts won the district tournament, the sectional tournament and then the state championship. The Colts steamrolled their way through the Southeast Regionals and after that, only narrowly missed the win in the World Series Championship game against a team from Seoul, South Korea.
Now the Colts are on their way to Greenville, S.C., to face their first test in the regional finals.
“We have a group of boys who have been playing together for about eight years, and then the boys were able to compete at a high level again this year,” said Chad Mills, who manages the squad along with Peter Bruno. “They competed in the district tournament inside the county and won that and went to the sectional tournament, which is several local counties, and they won that one as well. From there, it was on to the state tournament, which we won, and now we are advancing to the regional tournament.”
The Colts are headed to the difficult Southeast Regionals, which include seven states. If they win, they will have an opportunity to go to the Little League World Series.
The Little League program provides Wellington youth an environment to learn, practice, contribute and be rewarded in competitive baseball at the highest levels.
Recently, at the Wellington National Golf & Equestrian Club, the team received donation from the club’s new owners, Chip Smith and Doug Marty, who presented the team with a $2,500 check to help defray the expenses involved in their upcoming trip.
“We were talking to somebody a few days ago who said that this team had gone on to the national championship last year and it came up that they were doing a fundraiser,” Marty recalled. “We heard the stories about a lot of parents, a lot of families, that can’t afford to go watch them play, so we got together and decided that we were going to put up the money to help some of the families go that otherwise couldn’t make the journey. We hope the team can come home as Wellington National Champions.”
ABOVE: The Wellington Colts receive a check from the Wellington National Golf & Equestrian Club.
