Taney Dragons prep for Little League World Series debut

WILLAMSPORT, Pa. (WPVI) -- A procession of baseball teams entered Volunteer Stadium on Thursday to wild applause.

The Little League World Series is officially underway.

The Taney Dragons waved the flags and took in the experience but playing baseball was on their minds.

"Feeling good, feeling confident. If we practice hard and play well, like we mostly always do, I think we can overcome the team we are playing," said Zion Spearman.

"I'm excited because the first games start today and I wanna see what our competition looks like," said Kai Cummings.

The team had batting practice Thursday. Coach Alex Rice called it one of the best sessions yet.

"I think they are fine, they just want to play. We've been sitting here for four days," said Coach Rice.

On Friday, Taney takes on Tennessee.

Most of the players know little about the competition but they aren't taking the Southeast Regional winners lightly.

"Any team who has made it this far is a good team so we can't take anyone lightly but we are pretty confident tomorrow," said Tai Shanahan.

What's the key for the team to win?

"To get our bats working early and field cleanly like we did in the Delaware game," said Mo'ne Davis.

The Little League World Series is a double elimination tournament. That meant whether they win or lose on Friday, the Dragons will live to play again.

Either way, these precocious players have perspective.

"At this point, we are all champions. We've already won but it would be nice to win even more," said Kai.

The Dragons will make their Little League World Series debut playing Tennessee on Friday, August 15th at 3:00 p.m.

Follow Taney on Twitter and on Facebook during their LLWS experience.