Eastbayri.com

The Portsmouth Challenger team is going to the World Series this year.

The youth baseball team, made up of local boys and girls with various disabilities, was one of only two Challenger teams worldwide to be selected to play in the 2012 Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn.

The Portsmouth team will play a Challenger squad from North Carolina on Saturday, Aug. 25, at 11 a.m. at Volunteer Stadium in South Williamsport.

“I’m thrilled,” said Bob Dyl, the coach and founder of the Portsmouth Challenger team. “I’m like a little kid — all giddy inside.”

The coach’s persistence and paperwork finally paid off this year.

“You have to send in an application and basically sell your team as to why they should go. I’ve been doing that for the last three years,” said Mr. Dyl.

Although Portsmouth wasn’t selected the first year, the team finished among the top four finalists. That made Mr. Dyl optimistic about his chances the next go-around. The following year, however, Little League International decided to select teams by region and the nod went to two southern teams.

“But they told me they would go back to the East Coast the following year so I didn’t lose hope. They stuck to their word,” said Mr. Dyl, noting that Sam Ranck, the head of the Challenger division at Little League International, called him with the good news Thursday, Feb. 2.

Now the coach has to find a way to pay for his team and parents to make the 400-mile trip to South Williamsport. That includes his wife, Vicki, and their son, Caleb, who has autism and plays for the Challenger team.

“Last year we finished with 50 players, but I’m not bringing 50 kids there. We’re going to go by seniority. If I bring 15 players, there’s probably going to be about 45 of us going,” he said.

Little League International will kick in $500 to $1,000, he said, but the local Challenger division needs to do more fund-raising and grant applications — an ongoing task for the coach. “We have to raise some money to get down there,” said Mr. Dyl, adding that parents won’t be asked to contribute.

Anyone who would like to make a donation should send a check to Portsmouth Little League Challenger Division, P.O. Box 38, Portsmouth, RI 02871.

Sponsorships, grants and donations have allowed the Challenger division to bring players to Fenway Park, Cooperstown and elsewhere at no cost to parents. Portsmouth also hosts an annual Challenger Jamboree, in which volunteers and local vendors make sure parents of players from all around District 2 enjoy a stress-free day of watching their kids take to the fields. Sixteen teams from 10 different towns and cities took part in last year’s Jamboree.

Baseball fans who can’t make the trip to South Williamsport should still be able to catch the game from the comfort of their own living rooms. Mr. Dyl said Little League International is pushing for all New England PBS stations to air the Aug. 25 game.

Mr. Dyl said registration is still open for the Challenger Division, which begins practices in April. It’s open to any child with a disability, ages 5 to 18, from Portsmouth and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit www.portsmouthll.org.