The Modesto Babe Ruth baseball travel team has earned state and regional championships in 2012 but their thirst for victory has yet to be quenched. Less than a week after defeating Watsonville in the Pacific Southwest Regional Championship, the Modesto All-Stars were at John Thurman field, being honored by the mayor of Modesto, several congressmen, the Modesto Nuts, and their fans for advancing to the 2012 World Series in Texas.

“It’s a great feeling, seeing the kids enjoy what they do and make it this far,” head coach Bobby Swedberg said. “It means a lot for the program to get back to the World Series. That’s our goal every summer.”

Swedberg and his players will leave for Texas Thursday, arrive on Friday, and play their first game on Saturday. The schedule allows for one walk through prior to the first round, meaning the players must be ready to play immediately and be confident in their week of preparation. Even though it’s a short turn around, Swedberg is not worried.

“A lot of these kids grew up playing travel ball and played for good high school programs and were expected to compete for championships year in and year out,” Swedberg said. “They have the experience and know what it takes to perform in high pressure environment; it doesn’t seem to faze them.”

Modesto’s first opponent will be New York. Locals will be able to catch the game by visiting baberuthleague.org and clicking on the World Series tab for a live stream.

“This team comes through in the clutch, we have great pitching, we play good defense and we hit when we need to,” Swedberg said.  “That’s the key to baseball.”