The journey to the Babe Ruth 13-15 World Series in Longview has been surreal for Appleton, Wis., manager Dave Emanuel, coaches Brian Hollenbach and Paul Larsen, and their players.

First, consider that the ballplayers from the Appleton 14-year-old All-Stars from a year ago opted out of Babe Ruth baseball this time in favor of traveling tournament teams.

Second, when the Appleton 15s held an open tryout, 13 players showed up. All 13 made the club.

“It seemed like I had a B squad,” Emanuel said via phone from his dental office on Tuesday. “Most of these kids had never been on a tournament team before.”

So Emanuel and his crew rolled into the state tournament in Dodgeville fully expecting to play and lose two games, and then return to their regularly scheduled life. Instead, Appleton steamrolled its way to a 5-0 record, including a 3-2 title game decision over Sturgeon Bay.

“It’s just unbelievable,” Emanuel told the Appleton Post-Crescent. “I just keep thinking about how two, three weeks ago in some of the early tournaments, how awful we looked. At that point, I just felt it was going to be a long summer. It’s just incredible how they have come together and turned into a tough team.”

And when that tough team arrived in Mattoon, Ill., for the Ohio Valley Regional championship, Emanuel was beginning to wonder what he had on his hands.

In its opener against Effingham, Ill., Appleton needed a four-run rally late to win 4-3. Appleton fell behind Mount Vernon, Ohio, 7-0, but stormed back to win 10-7. In Game 3, Appleton crushed New Castle, Ind., 15-1.

Appleton then faced LaPorte, Ind. The Hoosier club had to beat Appleton twice to advance to Longview. It won the opener 3-2, but fell in the title finale 3-1.

Emanuel said advancing out of the regional wasn’t a great achievement, but when his team went 5-0 at the state level in Dodgeville to advance to the Ohio Valley Regional in Mattoon, his jaw dropped.

“It’s like the Bad News Bears,” Emanuel said. “This is a very nice squad.”

It appears that Appleton has taken the Wisconsin state motto — “Forward” — to heart, as in continue to push “Forward.”

“They have really gotten comfortable,” Emanuel admitted.

Comfortable with winning.

Longview Babe Ruth followers will get ample opportunity to see Appleton as it is in the same pool as the Longview All-Stars.

Appleton opens play Saturday against Nederland, Texas (12:05 p.m.), followed by pool games against West Fargo, N.D. (Sunday, 7:35 p.m.), Longview (Monday, 5:35 p.m.) and Torrance, Calif. (Tuesday, 2:35 p.m.).

John Pisapia is a former sports editor for The Daily News. He can be reached at sports@tdn.com