WILLIAMSPORT, PA — Hamilton West Side's run at the Little League World Series came to an end Sunday with a one-run loss to Japan, but for the families who spent weeks in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the final score only tells part of the story.
The tournament gave a group of 12-year-olds from Hamilton, Ohio, the chance to play on one of the biggest stages in youth sports. It also gave their families and the Hamilton community something to rally around.
Walk through the Little League World Series complex and the scale of the event is impossible to miss.
WATCH: Recapping Hamilton West Side's Little League World Series run
There are television cameras, massive crowds, merchandise and fans who traveled from around the world to watch children play baseball.
Then, there is the reminder that every player is just 12 years old, and behind every player is a family that helped them get there.
Ralph Hays has coached youth baseball for 44 years. He said one of the most important parts of the sport often happens away from the field.
“A lot of dads don't realize that the son is not playing for the coach. He's playing for his dad,” Hays said.
Hays said youth baseball can become a bonding experience between parents and children.
That bonding is something Hamilton parent Brion Treadway knows firsthand.
His son, Boone Treadway, has grown up around the game.
“Right before he could walk, my wife taught him how to hit,” Treadway said.
Baseball has become a central part of the Treadway family's life.
“It's just a lot of fun, brings our family very close together,” he said.
Treadway said he saw that same bond throughout the Hamilton West Side team, where parents supported not only their own children but the entire group.
“Everybody's here supporting their kids, and everybody's kids,” he said.
That support extended far beyond Williamsport.
Back in Hamilton, families, friends and strangers gathered for watch parties and flooded social media with messages of encouragement as the team continued its run.
For some fans, the connection to the tournament is generational.
Ernest Goodheart attended the World Series on his 78th birthday with his son. The two had visiting the tournament on their bucket list for years after Goodheart coached his son through his Little League years.
“I coached, we played, we enjoyed the moments together,” Goodheart said.
Now, the Hamilton players have their own memories to take home.
Treadway said he doesn't think the experience will simply fade once the boys leave Williamsport.
“I don't know how you can be at this place and have the experiences that we had and not just be a core memory for everyone,” he said.
The cameras will eventually leave. The crowds will go home. The boys will return to school and their regular sports schedules, but what happened in Williamsport will stay with them forever.
For Treadway, that means something much simpler than a championship.
After weeks apart from his son, the first thing he planned to tell Boone was simple.
“I love him, and I'm so proud of him,” Treadway said.
After weeks away from home, Treadway said he has never looked forward to an eight-hour drive more.
Not because he is ready to leave Williamsport, but because he is ready to have his son back in the car next to him.
