AKRON, Ohio---The Escanaba Junior Little League All-Stars (age 13-14) relaxed on an off-day Wednesday in Akron Ohio, but will be back in action Thursday morning.

The girls will play Jeffersonville, Indiana, in the Central Regional Championship game, with a trip to the Junior League World Series on the line.

The Indiana team won two games on Wednesday to earn the right to face Escanaba.

The Escanaba girls, meanwhile, say they are ready to go.

"I'm very excited," said Escanaba outfielder Maddie Griffin Wednesday night after practice in Boston Heights, Ohio. "We're gonna take this, I know it. We've had a lot of rain delays. But I'm excited for this."

"I didn't think we were gonna make it this far," Escanaba second baseman Claire McInerney added. "I was just happy to win states. But then, when we got here and we won, I was like, 'oh, I want to keep going'."

"We all keep our heads up and we all have fun," Escanaba outfielder Chloe Caswell said. "I think that's what gets us through the games. I'm so excited."

Jeffersonville has done things the hard way. The Indiana State Champions lost their first game here in Akron to the host team, and has had to battle back through the loser's bracket to win four games. Indiana got revenge on the host Elyria, Ohio, team, 5-1, and then took down the Illinois State Champions from LaGrange, Ill., 8-2.

The girls from Escanaba and Jeffersonville became friends while staying together at the Clarion Inn and Conference Center in suburban Akron, Ohio.

"The Indiana team, they're pretty nice people," Escanaba manager Vance Hiney said. "They came out and hung out with us in the (hotel) parking lot. If we get our bats going, we should be fine."

McInerney says she likes the Indiana girls, but... "I still want to beat them!"

The Escanaba and Jeffersonville girls even had a dance party in the hotel parking lot Tuesday night. So, did the Escanaba girls win that big event?

"Oh, yeah, definately," Caswell said with a laugh.

But the Escanaba girls also know that there is work to do on Thursday.

"This is probably the most important game of our lives," said outfielder Maddy Kolich. "It means a lot. If we win, there's a lot that's going to happen!"

And "that" is a spot in the Junior League Softball World Series in Kirkland, Washington.

It can be a jinx to make preparations for a tournament that you have not qualified for, but people from both Escanaba and Jeffersonville have had little choice but to make some plans in case they win. That's because the winner has to be in Seattle on Saturday, with a World Series game at 12:00 noon (ET) against British Columbia, Canada.

"If we get our bats going, we should be fine," Hiney said.

Thursday's championship game will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. The pre-game show starts at 10:00. First pitch is 10:30.

If Jeffersonville wins that game, a second game will be played to determine the regional champion. That game is set for 1:00, and will also be broadcast live.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS above to listen to interviews with four Escanaba girls and Coach Vance Hiney.