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MOUNT VERNON — Each time the Mount Vernon Babe Ruth League baseball team has gotten a second look at a tournament, it has conquered it.

In 2006, the Bulldogs got their first look at a state tournament. In 2007, after moving up to the Babe Ruth League level, they won their state tournament. In 2007, they checked out for the first time the regional level. In 2008, after winning state again, they conquered regionals.

If the Bulldogs want to be national champions, things will have to change, as they are preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The 14-year-old Babe Ruth League World Series in Quincy, Mass., where the Bulldogs begin play Sunday, is the biggest tournament yet for this group.

“Hopefully, we’ll do good,” Brennan Emory said. “It’s a little nerve-wracking. We don’t know what to expect. We’re kind of looking at it like a reward, but coach is still telling us that we can win this. We want to win.”

Each step along the way has been about building confidence. While finishing fifth in state as 12-year-olds, this group saw that it was as good as any team in the state. That thought was in their minds when they returned the next year and won.

The same thing happened during a fifth-place finish at regionals last year. The Bulldogs played everyone tough, losing on a play at the plate to the eventual champion. They remembered that coming back to the regional tournament — and winning it — this year.

“It’s still kind of unbelievable,” Sean FitzGerald said. “I first thought it was possible when we won state and found out who the teams were in the regional tournament. We knew who they were.”

With no experience at this level, the Bulldogs are drawing confidence from their success a year ago against the eventual regional champion.

“I expect we’ll do pretty well,” Adolph Rivas said. “The team we almost beat at regionals last year, they placed third and beat the teams that were playing for the (national) championship. We should do pretty well.”

Coach Adam McAbee said he thinks this team has all the confidence it needs.

“We’ve gone against teams that are twice the size of us and more athletic than us,” McAbee said. “We just wanted it more than them, and left it on the field. We played with all our heart the whole time.”

This is the final reward for a team that has played together for three summers. These are kids who spend most of their time together, whether playing sports or not.

“Most of us play football, basketball and baseball together, all three sports,” FitzGerald said. “We’re all really good friends and we hang out off the court, too.”

“We have a lot of heart,” Rivas said. “Our team meshes well together and feeds off each other.”

Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at