Hollidaysburg, Pa.'s Chase Link (18) applies a tag on Pearland, Texas' Kaiden Shelton, center, who slides back safely into third to end a rundown during the fifth inning of a baseball game at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa., Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Eight years ago, the Hollidaysburg Area Summer Baseball League did not exist.

Thursday, Hollidaysburg played at the Little League World Series. Talk about a tremendous growth spurt.

Hollidaysburg has made immense strides since former league president Steve Marty got them sanctioned with Little League International. The league quickly gained steam; these 12U all-stars started shining at an early age and the vision Marty and many others had seven years ago when the league was born has come to fruition in dramatic fashion.

“It’s really awesome to be a part of it from the start and see that transition of what it would take to reach that goal,” said Hollidaysburg manager and league president Jim McGough, who was the vice president during the league’s debut season. “A lot of the credit to goes to Steve Marty for getting us with Little League International and giving us that chance. Sitting here, where we are now, it’s all worth it.”

Before 2015, Hollidaysburg had a recreation league only. The community has long fielded strong high school baseball teams, but those players never had a shot at living a Little Leaguer’s dream.

Marty wanted to change that and did so. It has been a rapid ascension since. The league has established itself as one of the premier ones in Blair County and this current team captured district and section championships the past two seasons.

Now Hollidaysburg has added state and Mid-Atlantic regional championships. Making the Series is a bonus. The big picture was what Marty and others had in mind when the league was formed.

But it sure is an amazing bonus.

“What Steve Marty wanted to do was give them the best environment to grow and compete and the best way to do that was to charter with Little League International,” McGough said. “It gave the kids tremendous inspiration and motivation to be excited for the opportunity to dream about reaching Williamsport.”

Dream has become reality. Just getting out of Pennsylvania is a daunting task, but Hollidaysburg won five games in five days, including a state final double header sweep, to capture the program’s first state crown.

Delaware handed Hollidaysburg a regional defeat, but again Hollidaysburg fought back, stormed its way into the final and exacted revenge, beating Delaware, 7-3. All those kids who dared to dream are now living that dream.

And all of them have done the heavy lifting. They worked, sacrificed and persevered. All have delivered in key spots and now they are playing on the world’s biggest Little League stage.

“This is the best experience of my life,” catcher Braden Hatch said following the Delaware win. “Just being here is great because we had the opportunity to go to Williamsport; and now that we’ve succeeded, we’re going to be there.”

They are bringing a lot of people with them, too. As the DeFacto home team at the Series, Hollidaysburg will be drawing big crowds. The buzz has been building with every win since states started and is at an all-time high now.

Penn State soon opens its football season, but at this moment, Hollidaysburg is the talk of central Pennsylvania.

“It’s wild to think about it. It speaks to the kids and the community,” McGough said. “They had a goal and a dream and they achieved it. Credit to the kids. They had the dream and put the work into reach the goal.”

The goal now is to stay as long as possible in South Williamsport. Whatever happens, though, this team’s legacy is secure. They put an exclamation point on its league’s rapid growth. Maybe other Hollidaysburg teams will make runs like this in the future, but this team always will be the first.

Marty had the plan; he, the board and all the league’s volunteers put it into motion and the players and coaches took the reins from there. Together, they have helped this league go where so few others in this country have.

The growth continues and this run likely will boost numbers next year. Marty gave the league a chance and these players who dared to dream have put it on the map.

What a ride it has been.

“All the kids, when they started here, they have a glimmer in their eye because of the potential to reach Williamsport,” McGough said. “To actually achieve that goal is amazing. The league is excited and all of Hollidaysburg is excited.”