ORWALL National makes history

UPDATED: 7/18

Meet the ORWALL Big League All-Stars on Friday, July 19, beginning at 7 p.m. at the ORWALL Senior Field.

Kids are encouraged to bring baseball and ORWALL shirts for autographs. Signed Big League team shirts will also be raffled off.

Soft drinks and water will be available to purchase and a food vendor is in the works.
ORWALL National All-Star signs, hats and visors will be for sale to help raise money for the team and family travel expenses.

Local media, music and community leaders have also been scheduled to attend.



THE WOODLANDS, Texas - The Oak Ridge/Woodlands Area Little League (ORWALL) National Big League All-Star Team is headed to the World Series. Like Captain Kirk in the Starship Enterprise, ORWALL National will boldly go where no ORWALL team has gone before.

ORWALL National defeated Laredo 6-3 on Sunday night in La Vernia to capture the Southwest Regional Tournament and become the first-ever ORWALL team, in its nearly 50 years as an organization, to advance to a World Series.

The team advances to the Big League World Series in Easley, S.C., where the championship game will be nationally televised by ESPN2 live in prime time. Teams from Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Puerto Rico, Canada and the United States will compete for the title of Big League Baseball World Champions.

“It’s pretty exciting. It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said ORWALL National team manager Steven Tidwell.

ORWALL President Sam Yaeger was on hand to congratulate Tidwell and the team.

“ORWALL was founded in the 1970s, and we have had some great teams get really close to a World Series, but this is the first time in our League's history that we have a team reach this far. It's unchartered territory for us,” Yeager said.

The week-long World Series event features the best of the best teenage baseball players from around the world from July 24-31 at the J.B. “Red” Owens Recreation Complex, kicking off with Fan Fest on July 23 including a home run derby, fireworks and special concert by Casey James, an American Idol Top Ten singer.

It’s the 13th consecutive year for Easley to host the most talented 16-18-year-old players from around the globe.

"Coach Tidwell has put together a team full of good multi-tool players and with Big League rules the way they are you must have several position players who can also pitch and ORWALL fits that description,” said former ORWALL Big League All-Star coach Doug Sarant.

Marshall Kasowski and Branden Navarro lead a very deep ORWALL National pitching staff which also includes Mario Garza, Will Hickey, Barrett Francis, Gavin Grissom and Chris Grupp.

“We have knocked on the World Series door twice and could not break through,” Sarant continued.

“Congratulations to this fine group of athletes for putting our great league on the map. Making it to the show is a reflection on not only the players but the ORWALL board and District Administrator Ben Hunt as well; a win-win for everybody in the community.”

The ORWALL National roster also includes; Justin Cassio, Tony Cianciulli, Andrew Cook, Kyle Daniels, Ethan Francis, Colyn Gallagher, Gage Grissom, Travis Strothmann and Merek Tidwell.

“ORWALL has produced many fine ball players and our community is known for stellar high school baseball programs and prospects: Kyle Drabek, Jameson Taillon, Paul Goldschmidt, and others,” stated ORWALL Director Russ Doolittle.

Just last month, The Woodlands High School captured the Texas 5A State Championship.

“It all starts at Little League,” continued Doolittle, “and some of these young men have been playing at ORWALL since they were 5 and 6. This is a dream come true.”

ORWALL National opens World Series play on Wednesday, July 24, with a 6:30 p.m. game against South Carolina District 1. ORWALL National takes on the Southeast Regional champion at 3 p.m. Thursday, July 25 and then faces the East Region champion at 3 p.m. Friday, July 26.

ORWALL National takes on Central at 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 29, before U.S. semifinals take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 30. The championship game, between the U.S. champion and the International champion, is slated for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31.

ORWALL is seeking preliminary interest from area businesses and individual who would be willing to sponsor the team to the nationally-televised Big League World Series. For more information, contact ORWALL at ORWALLsponsor@Yahoo.com.

For more information on ORWALL, visit www.orwallbaseball.com

For more information on the Big League World Series, visit www.bigleagueworldseries.com

Russ Doolittle contributed to this story.