Long Beach softball team headed to state championship, raising funds to help with expenses

LONG BEACH (KABC) -- A Long Beach softball team is heading to the state championship! But they need a little help getting there. The Heartwell All-Stars Gold Team has worked hard for this moment. And now their practice has paid off.

"I've really been wanting to make it to state, and it's finally happened, and I really want to win," said Audrina Ramos.

Larry Leal is the coach. He says this group of 11-to-13 year old is destined for great things.

"They listen, they pay attention, work hard, no drama," said Leal. "They put in the extra hours, the extra work. They're not in a hurry to get home and get on their phones, they just want to keep learning."

But there is more to this than hard work. League Secretary Cristin Riley says the financial cost of going to the state championship might actually be the biggest hurdle.

"For a lot of these families it's quite an expense, the average girl to go to the state championships usually spends about $1,000- $1,200 for the tournament fees," said Riley. "There's trading pins involved, the travel, the lodging, the food, just everything involved in it. It's really expensive, so we're trying to spread the word to get the community's help to get these kids where they want to be."

For the parents who watch these girls at every practice and every game, it's no surprise they've come this far.

"I don't think it's an accident, a lot of these girls are skilled, and they worked hard for it," said Leo Corrales.

"I'm very excited because my team has worked very hard to make it there, we've been practicing a lot and worked our butts off to get there," said team captain Natalie Olmos.

The State Championship in Lancaster runs from July 8-th through 10-th.