SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- The 72nd Little League World Series came to a close Sunday afternoon with Hawaii beating South Korea 3-0.
Williamsport really does welcome the world. Both teams in the championship come from the other side of the planet. Honolulu is actually 260 miles closer to Seoul, South Korea than it is to South Williamsport.
Thousands of people packed the hill behind Lamade Stadium to watch the championship game.
It's been a busy week in South Williamsport. According to Little League, Sunday's game drew a crowd of nearly 24,000 fans. Attendance was over 330,000 during the course of this year's tournament.
Sunday's championship game marked the end of the series, which saw nine days jam-packed with baseball.
For nearly two weeks out of the year, the spotlight is on South Williamsport for the Little League World Series. Fans saw hits, great plays, and 16 groups of kids who had the time of their lives.
There are roughly 6,500 teams that begin the year dreaming of a Little League title, and that's just the 10 to 12-year-old boys.
Also having a lot of fun were the fans. Megan Maeulen is from Montoursville. She and her family come every year.
"We really liked it growing up as kids. These guys love it. This guy right here, Jackson, is an avid pin collector, so I think this is our fifth or sixth day being here," Maeulen said.
James Wronski of Mahanoy City came to the Little League World Series when he was a child. Now he brings his children.
"It's great. It's a great family environment. It's great for the kids to experience what it is," Wronski said.
The Hutchins family drove from Buffalo, New York. They brought their son who plays Little League.
"He was here when he was younger, but he wanted to come back now that he's a Little Leaguer," said Carrie Hutchins.
"We took the older boys a couple of years ago, so now he's old enough to really experience it. It's a lot of fun," Dale Hutchins added.
Fans tell Newswatch 16 as excited as they are, they're also a little sad because the championship game means the end of this year's world series.
"I feel like that means it's the end of summer for us. My kids have gone back to school already, but the end of the series means the end of the summer for us," said Maeulen.
All that's left to do now is clean up and look forward to next year's Little League World Series in South Williamsport.