SEATTLE — There was nothing little about the walk-off home run from Matthew Fisher over the weekend in San Bernardino, California.
His three-run blast sent his Northeast Seattle team to the biggest stage in Little League — Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the Little League World Series.
The group of 12-year-olds is more than 2,600 miles away from home, but they say they aren't missing home one bit.
"I could live here, it's so great," said Brooks Shewey, the coach's son and the team's centerfielder.
He said he and his friends have gone from King County to king treatment.
"Even the practice fields are great. The batting cages. We get so much free stuff. I could've come here empty handed and I would've been perfectly fine," he said.
The Northwest Region baseball champs are indeed getting the experience of a lifetime.
It's a chance to show they're the best in the world, while also becoming best friends with their competition.
"The people from Cuba I've gotten to be pretty good friends with. They don't speak English," Shewey said.
"Obviously we can't really communicate, but just 'hellos.'" said Nathan Ehrlichman, who adds he's gotten to know his neighbors in the dorms as well.
"We've also made friends with the Chinese Taipei kids that are next door to us," he said.
It'll be all business on gameday though.
Northeast Seattle cruised through the regional tournament, outscoring teams from Oregon and Alaska 33-1 in three games.
Head coach Christian Shewey said it was an extension of what he's seen all summer.
"We absolutely have earned our spot to be here," he said.
For Shewey, it's personal satisfaction watching his son become a Seattle star, just like he was for the Huskies.
"We're all homegrown kids," said Shewey, who won three Pac-10 north division titles when he played for UW in the 1990s. "We all love the fact that we are the first Seattle team to do this."
It may be the first time, but Shewey said the goal is to lay a foundation for years to come.
"There's no reason why Northeast Seattle can't make more runs like this in the future," he said.
