Tate Schneider of the Midwest team is tagged out by Frankie Kolter of the Mid-Atlantic team during the Little League World Series in South Williamsport. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Little League again has made its mark, reaching the Little League World Series and winning another game here like it did four years ago.

But while his players rightfully are labeled as fantastic, its qualities which statistics cannot measure which might mean the most to manager Ryan Vavruska and his staff. Having others highlight the team’s relentless work and humbleness lets those coaches know their players have done more than just enhance their baseball skills this summer.

“My uncle John (team host John Engle) told me the second or third night we were here there hasn’t been a team that has practiced as much as we have besides Japan,” Vavruska said following his team’s opening 2-0 win against Pennsylvania. “If we can hang our hat on being compared to Japan, I think this team and the coaches are doing something right while we’re here.”

Sioux Falls has done a lot right all summer, repeating as Midwest champions and reaching the Series for a fourth time in its league’s existence. Before the bond and unselfishness the team displays is looked at it, highlighting the work ethic is a good start since it highlights the foundation success has been built upon.

Nine players are back from last year’s 11U all-star team, but all 12 have attacked practices at the fields and on their own since last fall. As the weather went from cold to scorching hot, those players kept their foot on the accelerator, pushing through temperatures on turf fields which hovered in the 95-100 degree range in June and July.

Doing so has provided Sioux Falls the ultimate payoff.

“All of these kids have been grinding since November and December last year. There are no shortage of pitches or at-bats or grounders taken,” Vavruska said. “There’s no day they have taken off in their quest to get better.”

“It’s a group of boys that puts in the work on an everyday basis. They’ve been playing baseball through the fall and winter to get ready for this season. They showed for Game 1 and had their pedal to the metal,” Sioux Falls Little League president Rob Butler said. “It shows. The boys are ready every time they’re out there. It’s a great group of kids as far as baseball goes, but it’s also just a great group to be around.”

That speaks to the bond this team has built throughout the summer. It also shines a light on the team’s selflessness. Pitchers Murphy Seefeldt and Maxen Snoozy both were asked about their masterful shutouts in Midwest championship and Series victories, respectively, following each game. Both times those players immediately credited their teammates for all their success.

It’s not just those two either. Ask any player about his performance and he will deflect any praise toward his teammates. As individuals all are terrific players, but together, they have formed a strong bond and shown how far 12 playing as 1 can take a team.

“We’re really tight,” Snoozy said following his one-hit shutout in the Series opener. “We’ve been wanting to get here ever since the state tournament and there has been a bond ever since.”

“To win a game we definitely have to trust our teammates,” third baseman Kenson Henderson said.

Not all these players have competed together over the years and the team has built that trust quick. That goes despite playing just three state tournament games and having a long layoff before regionals started.

In some ways, building the chemistry was the most challenging part. Sioux Falls had already paid the price all offseason, so it was ready from a baseball standpoint. What those around the league really like is how quickly they embraced the one for all and all for one mentality.

“The message to the boys before the first practice was it’s not about me, it’s not about Maxen, it’s not about anybody,. We were trying to build a culture; legacy is the word I’ve heard. We don’t want to be compared to any groups that have been here before. We want to be recognized as a group, as Sioux Falls, as South Dakota as Midwest, so for me that has been the message.”

It has been received well since that first practice. Players believe in each other, push each other and pick each other up. That is a big reason Sioux Falls has been so balanced throughout the summer. There are not one or two players carrying this team.

All lift an equal load. Driving that home, No. 9 hitter Grayson Rehfeldt has led the team in average and on-base percentage throughout the all-star season. Sioux Falls generated a .385 on-base percentage at regionals and every player produced a hit.

“That’s our team right there. We don’t rely on one particular player. We haven’t the entire summer,” Vavruska said. “Our entire lineup is good top to bottom. It’s tough to make our lineup. At any given moment it can be anyone.”

All the intangibles which define Sioux Falls helped it regroup after it suffered its first all-star loss at regionals. North Dakota rallied from a two-run deficit and won a 5-4 winner’s bracket final there. Instead of coming part, Sioux Falls pulled together, kept working and kept delivering from all spots in the order.

Eight players generated hits, including each of the Nos. 9-12 hitters, Seefeldt threw a two-hit shutout and the defense played flawless as, following a 3-1 win against Nebraska, Sioux Falls thumped North Dakota, 6-0 and earned its long-coveted Series berth.

“North Dakota beating us in the semifinals was the best thing that could have happened to this team. We as coaches needed to see how they would respond and they didn’t look back,” Vavruska said. “It made us closer because all the kids were rallying around each other. They all want the same dream at the end of the day and that’s to be on TV in front of America to show what they’re made of.”

Sioux Falls has done that time after time. Now, not just America, but the entire world knows who this team is. It’s not just that Sioux Falls has won so much that makes the coaches and community so proud.

It is how this team has done it.

“Seeing these knuckleheads playing in the dorm, hanging around, being 12-year-olds is pretty special for me,” Vavruska said. “They take direction very well, they work hard when they’re asked to work hard and it’s a great feeling at the end of the day.”