The newly minted champions, who were met with a sea of light blue and rousing shouts of “Go Gundo!,” also received honorary Keys to the City.
Louis Lappe knew the ball was gone, he said, when he hit the now familiar walk-off home run to win the Little League World Series last month.
This time they were led by cheerleaders, the El Segundo High marching band and throngs of powder-blue-clad fans, a tribute to the uniforms they donned as “West” and tore through the prestigious tournament. “You play as a family and you play together,” Boehle said at the ceremony. “Even if you lose, you still win and you still have these guys behind your back.”
El Segundo, which formed its Little League in 1954, made its way past more than 440 teams to represent California’s southern region in the United States bracket. They fought back after losing to a team from Texas on Aug. 21. “The level of support for these kids is unbelievable, great parents, great coaching, and the whole community rallies behind them,” Boyles said.
Terry McRoberts, player Declan McRoberts’ grandfather, was on the parade route. He and wife Ellen have been at every tournament game, he said, from San Bernardino to Williamsport.“We knew were were good,” McRoberts said. “We’ve been having conversations about this since they were 9 years old.”