SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — It’s difficult to tell who among the Mill Creek contingent enjoyed the Little League World Series the most: the players, the coaches or their fans.
All, it seemed, had the time of their lives.
“I’ve been watching the Little League World Series for 20, 25, 30 years and until you’ve been here, you can’t really experience what it’s like,” Mill Creek manager Scott Mahlum said. “The first game we had 16,400 people watching us, it was a thrill of a lifetime.”
Mill Creek, the Northwest Regional champion, advanced to the U.S. semifinals before being eliminated Wednesday night in a 9-4 loss to West Regional champion Hawaii.
While the loss hurt, it didn’t come close to spoiling the experience.
“They said it would be magical before we got here,” said Cara Schreiber, mother of Mill Creek first-baseman and pitcher Alec Kisena, “and it really was.
“It was just incredible,” Schreiber said. “Now that it’s over, its kind of bittersweet. I wish they could have kept going, but I think they’re all ready to go home.”
That was definitely true for pitcher and infielder Jason Todd.
“Home sounds good,” said Todd, who along with his teammates has been away from home nearly the entire month of August. “My own bed sounds great right now.”
The players are scheduled to return home Monday, and will bring with them memories and souvenirs
“It was a really fun time because we got to meet other teams from across the world and across the U.S.,” Kisena said.
One of the traditions at the Little League World Series is to trade lapel pins with other players. Mill Creek outfielder Casey Dawes traded for pins from Japan and Guam, along with pins from players who didn’t reach the World Series but came to Williamsport as spectators.
Parent and Player Reflections
Team Manager’s Reflections
Pitcher and infielder Derrick Mahlum, the coach’s son, learned some Japanese from an ESPN translator. He could say “Hello, what’s your name?” and “Would you like to play ping-pong?” — the latter being the game of choice in the hall where the teams were housed.
During the tournament, the Mill Creek players received e-mails from around the nation via a Little League Web site. One Little Leaguer from Centralia sent Todd a message saying he admired him because he was such a good player. “It’s cool that guys across Washington are looking up to you,” Todd said.
Of course, the Mill Creek team also had plenty of support behind its dugout. A vocal and enthusiastic contingent of fans was on hand for all four of Mill Creek’s games.
Brett Kingma, older brother of second baseman Dan Kingma, and Ryan Todd, Jason’s older brother, as well as Anton Soderqvist, the younger brother of infielder-pitcher Joakim Soderqvist, painted their faces and chests green and yellow to grab the attention of ESPN cameras during Mill Creek games.
“They (got) us going,” Mill Creek catcher Alex Jondal said. “We have two or three crazy fans.”
In the gift shop, all kinds of Little League World Series items were on sale. Green-and-yellow T-shirts and caps that read “Northwest” and “Mill Creek, Washington” were available, and the entire Mill Creek contingent could easily be spotted in its colors. Some fans that weren’t even from Mill Creek wore Northwest shirts.
“It’s unbelievable, you see it on TV, but to come here and see it, the all-around experience. It’s unbelievable,” said Ken Neaville, a Mill Creek police sergeant and father of outfielder K.J. Neaville.
“Twenty, 30 years from now they’ll pull out their pins and jerseys and say ‘Look what we did,’ ” said Jennifer Jang, mother of outfielder Daniel Jang and wife of assistant coach Brian Jang said. “It’s an experience they’ll have forever.”
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