World Series Gives Montoursville, Pa., a Little Respite From Grief

Many of the more than 200 volunteers serving in various capacities here live in nearby Montoursville, a town still reeling from the explosion of TWA Flight 800 on July 17.

All 230 people aboard the jet were killed, including 16 high school French Club students and five adult chaperons from Montoursville.

“I knew a lot of those kids and their families,” said Kristin Schneck, a waitress at a Williamsport restaurant. “It’s the saddest thing. The whole town is taking so long to recover.”

The World Series is providing a week-long distraction from their grief.

“I’ve been working the series for 17 years, but this year I looked forward to it the most,” said Mike Yost, a Montoursville resident and volunteer. “Anything for this town to take its mind off those kids for a while.”

On Saturday, Little League will honor Montoursville residents Malcolm and Eleanor Mussina as parents of the year. Their son, Mike Mussina, an all-star pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles, played Little League in Montoursville.

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Local yokels: All three Moorpark coaches grew up in Ventura County. Manager Hector Garcia and Coach Bobby Valenzuela, in fact, played in the Moorpark Little League more than 25 years ago.

This is the first Moorpark team to win a district championship, and when Garcia, 39, and Valenzuela, 41, played, tournament play was decidedly brief.

“It was single-elimination in those days, and we used to say, ‘Play one and we’re done,’ ” Garcia said.

Coach Gary Sharpe, 35, is from Newbury Park, where he played Little League and Boys’ Baseball before playing at Newbury Park High.

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Dream analysis: Howard J. Lamade Stadium is often called a field of dreams because so many kids worldwide attempt the difficult task of getting here.

The players from Marshalltown, Iowa, live about 100 miles from the original field of dreams, the cornfield where the movie of the same name was filmed. The field still exists as a tourist attraction.

Although Marshalltown Manager Jeff Clement said he has been to the field, two of his players, third baseman Ryan Stotts and first baseman Tyler Davis, have not.

“I’ve heard of it I guess, but I haven’t been there,” Davis said. “I’ve never thought about it.”

Kids can be hard to impress. Moorpark players set eyes on the 55-acre complex at Williamsport for the first time Saturday night, standing above lighted 40,000-seat Howard J. Lamade Stadium and gazing down on the field and plush dormitories.

“They said, ‘Wow,’ then they all started rolling down the hill and laughing,” Sharpe said.

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Now hear this: Merle Sanders of Mission Hills is in his third season as World Series public address announcer, a lifetime appointment. Sanders, 65, has been a Little League volunteer since 1969.

For the past 18 years, he has served as administrator of District 40, which encompasses most of the San Fernando Valley.

Picture perfect: Another Valley resident with an ongoing role in the World Series is Russ Tinsley of Tarzana, who has been the Little League staff photographer for 14 years.

Tinsley’s Los Angeles firm, Echo Film Services, has won nine Emmy awards for sound editing.

“This really is more exciting to me than winning the Emmys,” said Tinsley, whose photographs are prominently displayed in the 50th Anniversary World Series program. “Every year, this is a treat.”

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Other games: Kao-Hsuing, Taiwan, and San Isidro, D.R., will play for the international championship today at 5 p.m. Kao-Hsuing defeated San Isidro, 9-0, earlier in the week and has outscored three opponents, 42-6.

Kao-Hsuing defeated Surrey, B.C., 21-2, Wednesday, and is the odds-on favorite to win Taiwan’s 18th World Series championship since 1969.

Kao-Hsuing blasted five home runs and scored five, nine and seven runs in the first three innings before the game was called under a 10-run mercy rule.

Teams from California have won the second-most titles, five.

San Isidro bounced back from its defeat to Kao-Hsuing by beating Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 13-0.

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Net results: Information on the Little League World Series is available on the Internet at https://www.littleleague.org.

Statistics, Little League and World Series history, individual photographs of every player, and video of special events surrounding the 50th anniversary celebration can be found.