Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Thousands of fans and supporters turned out Monday in Upstate New York to give the victorious Maine-Endwell Little League team a raucous homecoming celebration, even as the players were still wrapping their heads around the big win.
“It’s shocking,” shortstop-pitcher Michael Mancini, a 13-year-old rising seventh-grader, told ABC News Monday.
On Sunday, the team of eleven 12- and 13-year-olds as well as their coaches capped off a perfect 24-0 season with the biggest victory of all: They beat powerhouse East Seoul, South Korea, 2-1, to win the Little League World Series championship at Williamsport’s Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Pennsylvania.
“When you actually get the chance to get your head around that, it’s just amazing that we represented the entire country in an international championship game,” said catcher-third baseman Conner Rush, a 13-year-old rising eighth-grader.
The team, which hails from New York’s Maine and Endwell towns, also won the sportsmanship award. The teammates said they used Google Translate to communicate with the South Korean team and invited them to participate in their winning lap around the stadium.
“They were just as talented as we were and we both deserved to win,” Mancini said.
“We just tried to, no matter what happens, be nice to everybody ’cause if you lost a game, you wouldn’t want somebody to show you up or anything bad,” Rush said.
Maine-Endwell were the first U.S. team to win in five years. They faced South Korea after beating Tennessee for the U.S. title 4-2 on Saturday. The team even received a congratulatory call from President Obama on Saturday.
“Congratulations! … I’m proud of you, guys. … Seeing not only how well the kids compete, but also the good sportsmanship, and seeing the parents looking all stressed — not yelling too bad,” Obama said in a call posted on the team’s Twitter page. “It’s just a wonderful event.”
Second baseman and pitcher Jude Abbadessa, a 13-year-old rising seventh-grader, shared with ABC News the ingredients that he believed had contributed to the team’s success.
“Hard work, practiced every day and just played the game as a team,” he said.
At the end of the parade route, the team emptied out of their bus to chants of “USA! USA” and took to Struble Field to tip their hats to the crowds and be officially honored by community and state leaders.
“We couldn’t ask for anything more from these 11 individuals,” coach Scott Rush, Conner’s father, said Monday. “We’re happy to be home. It’s been a long journey.”
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