SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT — Montana had never had a team in the Little League World Series. So, a couple weeks ago, 12-year-old Andy Maehl asked his Billings coach if their team was ready to make history.

“He kept asking me the question every five minutes,” coach Mark Kieckbusch said Wednesday in recalling the talk with the catcher at the regional tournament. “I thought, ‘What are you, crazy?”‘

Prophetic? Yes.

Crazy? Not so much.

The mashers from Montana have made it all the way to South Williamsport, joining 15 other teams hoping to make the triumphant trot around the Lamade Stadium warning track with a World Series championship banner.

First pitch is Thursday, with Taiwan and Mexico starting a four-game slate.

“Just to think, in 65 years,” Maehl said Wednesday after batting practice, “we’re the only team from Montana to do that.”

Kieckbusch watched nearby, his shirt soaked in sweat after an hour watching swings in the cage.

“To go down as the first Montana team ever,” Maehl said, “that’s really cool.”