Kirby Wells lives the dream Friday.
It's one almost any boy has after he first puts on a baseball uniform.
Take to the mound. Get ready to pitch the biggest game of your life. A championship is on the line.
For Wells, the mound is at Haymarket Park. The championship is for the Class A State Tournament. The uniform he'll wear is that of Grand Island, which seemingly has "eight-seeded" permanently attached before its name during a stunning three-game run through the winners' bracket.
Wells and the Islanders try to finish off their postseason to remember against second-seeded Millard West (30-7) in the championship game at 10 a.m. If the Islanders lose, a second winner-takes-all game will follow.
"I've always thought about pitching at Haymarket Park," said Wells, who is 5-2 with two saves and a 2.65 ERA. "This is just a dream come true. It's going to be special."
It'll be even more special if the Islanders (19-13) do get that one final win needed to earn the program's first state title.
It was a long road for Grand Island to get to this point. An injury-plagued start to the season led to a 6-10 start.
Once the team got healthy, the wins starting coming. Over the past three weeks, the Islanders are 5-1 against teams that were among the top five seeds in Class A.
The arms of Kash Kalkowski and Eric Schwieger have carried 100 percent of the load for the pitching staff in the postseason. They are a combined 5-0 and have pitched the team's last 38 innings.
Despite not facing an opponent since picking up the win against Columbus in the regular season finale on April 30, Wells isn't concerned about a layoff.
"I've thrown in the bullpen every day in practice," he said. "I'll go out, relax and play hard."
Beating Millard North in Wednesday's winners' bracket final gave Grand Island an off-day Thursday. The championship game will be the Islanders' fourth game in seven days.
Millard West had to win twice on Thursday alone to stay alive in its attempt the win its first state title. The Wildcats, who have played five games in four days, have finished runner-up four times, including last year.
Getting a day's rest along with the luxury of having to be beaten twice was a big plus, G.I. catcher Slade Bolles said.
"It's huge," he said following the 4-3 victory over the Mustangs. "We do get a day off. Everyone is sore and can get rested. We're not as strong as everyone else in pitching (depth), so it'll be nice to give a day off so the guys can rest their arms."
The Islanders have taken their unexpected march to the final in stride. Still, they know no one expected them to be in this position.
"It's awesome to be in the finals right now," pitcher/shortstop Kash Kalkowski said. "I never thought we'd do this. We've competed every time. We've been practicing every day hard and doing everything aggressively."
Grand Island and Millard West haven't seen each other at the state tournament, but they did split a doubleheader at Ryder Park on April 28. The Islanders won 11-7 before falling 8-0.
Nebraska State Baseball Tournament
Class A
Saturday's Game
At Sherman Field
Grand Island 8, Omaha Creighton Prep 2
Monday's Games
At Sherman Field
Omaha Westside 3, Papillion-La Vista South 0
Millard North 4, Lincoln Southeast 2
Millard West 3, Lincoln North Star 2
Tuesday's Games
At Sherman Field
Omaha Creighton Prep 15, Papillion-La Vista South 5, Papillion-LaVista South eliminated
Lincoln North Star 9, Lincoln Southeast 8, Lincoln Southeast eliminated
At Haymarket Park
Grand Island 2, Omaha Westside 1
Millard North 1, Millard West 0
Wednesday's Games
At Sherman Field
Millard West 8, Omaha Creighton Prep 7, Omaha Creighton Prep eliminated
Lincoln North Star 8, Omaha Westside 4, Omaha Westside eliminated
At Haymarket Park
Grand Island 4, Millard North 3
Thursday's Games
At Sherman Field
Millard West 12, Lincoln North Star 2, Lincoln North Star eliminated
Millard West 10, Millard North 3, Millard North eliminated
Friday's Games
At Haymarket Park
Game 14: Grand Island (19-13) vs. Millard West (30-7), 10 a.m.
Game 15: if necessary, 20 minutes after Game 14
Class B
Monday's Games
At Den Hartog Field
Gretna 5, Omaha Roncalli 4, 9 innings
Omaha Gross 11, Lincoln Pius X 1
Ralston 6, Omaha Skutt 3
Elkhorn 13, Blair 9
Tuesday's Games
At Den Hartog Field
Lincoln Pius X 3, Omaha Roncalli 1, Omaha Roncalli eliminated
Omaha Skutt 9, Blair 2, Blair eliminated
At Haymarket Park
Omaha Gross 7, Gretna 6 (8 innings)
Elkhorn 5, Ralston 3
Wednesday's Games
At Den Hartog Field
Lincoln Pius X 14, Ralston 8, Ralston eliminated
Omaha Skutt 3, Gretna 0, Gretna eliminated
At Haymarket Park
Elkhorn 2, Omaha Gross 1
Thursday's Games
At Den Hartog Field
Omaha Skutt 1, Lincoln Pius X 0, Lincoln Pius X eliminated
Omaha Skutt 13, Omaha Gross 11
Saturday, May 17
At Haymarket Park
Game 14: Elkhorn (20-9) vs. Omaha Skutt (15-12), 10 a.m.
Game 15: if necessary, 20 minutes after Game 14
