Two local youth little league teams are looking to make history and become world champions at the senior little league baseball and softball world series.

 In the past three years, five teams from the Irmo Little League group have qualified for a world series tournament.

“I will say little league and rec ball, in general, has a bit of a negative stigma to it. People think it’s a lower form of baseball,” Irmo senior baseball coach Pete von Ahn said. “This is high-level baseball or softball. … All the players on our team either played JV or varsity.”

The softball team was the first from Irmo to qualify for a world series three years ago. The group now, which played in the junior division at the time, advanced to the world series but lost in the championship game to finish runner-up.

The baseball team qualified last season as juniors and advanced to the semifinals before losing to a team from Michigan. While both teams are seeking redemption, they are approaching it in different ways.

“For the guys that are returning, I think there was a feeling of unfinished business from last year,” von Ahn said. “When we lost last year, everybody obviously was disappointed, but even the returners, the guys who had aged out, they were encouraging other people to come out and play, and we had a great turnout this season.”

While the baseball team will be playing with a chip on their shoulder, the softball team is hoping to block out the noise and not think about the past. Instead, they are looking to make the most out of this tournament, regardless of what came before.

“I think they’re just excited for the opportunity. We know what it takes to win, but we also know that there’s going to be a lot of good competition there,” softball coach Bryan Jones said. “I teach them to just go out and have fun and to play your best. When we walk off the field, we’ve given it our all. Whether we win or lose, we know we did everything that we could do on the field. We gave it our all. We hustled. We worked on every play.”

Both teams feature players that are part of a Lexington County high school team. Irmo, Chapin and Dutch Fork are the big three that the teams pull from, but other schools nearby are represented as well, such as Columbia’s Ben Lippen.

One of the key pieces on the softball team is Dutch Fork’s Layla Peppers. Jones said Peppers is the team’s primary pitcher, and her mental toughness and feel for the game set her up for success. Other key players from Lexington County include twins K.G. and Olivia Hill from Dutch Fork, Haley Alderman from Dutch Fork, Eason Davis from Chapin and Regan Haggard from Chapin.

“I’ve got both phenomenal arms behind the plate and then a lot of speed in the outfield,” Jones said.

On the boy’s side, White Knoll’s Denzel Posey is one of the key factors. He is a highly-touted baseball prospect who was also recently invited to compete in the 15u Team USA baseball training camp with a shot at making the U.S. roster.

Dutch Fork’s Raleigh Salters, Chapin’s Reese Jolly and Chapin’s Griff Harper are also some key pieces that have led the baseball team to success.

Despite coming from different schools, both teams’ coaches say they have incredible chemistry and have been playing little league together since they were young kids.

“The chemistry is outstanding because they’ve played together through little league,” Jones said. “Then even in high school, some of them play together. And then all those schools compete during their school seasons against each other.”

The boys and girls got off to a strong start in their respective tournaments. Both teams won their first game of the world series with the boys defeating the Southwest team 16-0 and the girls defeating Team Canada 8-5.

Both teams played again on July 30. The baseball team beat the West team 8-0. to advance in the tournament bracket. Softball had a tough time, losing two games in pool play to the Central and Europe-Africa teams.

The grils will be back in action Aug. 1, while the boys get to rest until Aug. 2. The championship game for the boys’ tournament is scheduled for Aug. 2 in Easley, S.C. and the softball championship is Aug. 3 in Sussex County, Del.

Regardless of the outcomes on the field, qualifying for these tournaments is an accomplishment in itself and a testament to the development the Irmo Little League group has experienced in recent years.

“Our seniors just started out as a league where a bunch of guys were having fun,” von Ahn said. “We started winning some games and some tournaments. And then, every year, it’s just gotten to be more and more.”