SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- It's been a busy week in South Williamsport. Thousands of people packed the hill behind Lamade Stadium to watch the boys from River Ridge, Louisiana take on Curacao.
“It’s fantastic. These kids are grown up athletes basically. They’re playing so well,” Bob Perry of South Williamsport said.
For nearly two weeks the spotlight was on South Williamsport for the Little League World Series. Fans saw lots of great baseball.
“It’s interesting just to watch them, watch them smile and play. You have 11 to 12-year-old kids making amazing plays. It’s more interesting to me than professional baseball,” Wayne Blue of Johnstown said.
Blue and Rich Horner are Little League umpires from Johnstown. They've been coming to the Little League World Series for more than 30 years.
“We started out with two days and then it ended up three days and now we come down for five. We get a hotel room and we stay for the whole week,” Horner of Johnstown said.
According to Little League officials, attendance was nearly 300 thousand people during the course of this year's tournament.
"Just to watch the games and see all the kids participating. We’re so excited for them,” Elaine Pipa of Rochester New York said.
Little League just announced it is expanding from 16 to 20 teams in the year 2021. People tell Newswatch 16 they’re excited.
“That sounds great. I think the more kids that can play the better,” Lisa Hiley said.
“It’s going to make it interesting. More kids will get to come to Williamsport,” Blue said.