Posted at: 09/16/2012 11:10 PM

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Austin Stars honored at Target Field

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- Most young baseball players only dream of getting the chance to one day play in the Major Leagues, but sometimes, the chance to be on a major league field with the pros comes sooner than expected.

The Austin Stars twelve and under little league team got that chance Saturday, and now it's a memory that will last a lifetime.

Early Saturday morning, the Austin Stars loaded a bus for a trip up to the Twins game. But this was no ordinary day at the ballpark.

The elite travel team got to walk around Target Field with all the champions of the Gopher State Baseball tournament, as well as some Twins icons.

"Ben Revere gave us a high-five and then I said 'way to go' to Justin Morneau and he waved at me, that was awesome," said Bret Mathews, one of the team's captains.

The 12U team won the Gopher State tournament a few months ago. They were recognized for their accomplishment in an unforgettable way.

"It's a great accomplishment for the team, right now, being here on Target Field, these kids follow the Twins all year long and being able to stand down on Target Field and walk around there is great," said Stars head coach Mark Conner. "Not only that, but also being recognized as a state champion and get their rings is a heck of an accomplishment. It's great for these boys to be recognized by the Twins organization and all the Twins fans,"

Capped off by getting to show off their championship hardware, there was smiles all around on Saturday afternoon.

"It was awesome, you know, to get to walk on the field that the professionals play on everyday, it was really cool," said Phillip Zynda, another of the team's four captains.