Little League teams gets hero's welcome as it returns home

LEWISBERRY, Pa. (AP) The victory went to Tokyo, but members of Lewisberry's Red Land Little League team returned to their small community as hometown champions, escorted by police, firefighters and EMS crews.

Red Land lost 18-11 to the Kitasua Little League Sunday in the final game of the 2015 Little League World Series championship in South Williamsport. But residents' pride and the thrill of being in the competition won out over their disappointment.

The team was welcomed home by sign-waving, cheering fans who lined the streets late Sunday night as the team made its way to Red Land High School, where it was greeted by local officials.

''This is the biggest thing that has happened in our little town,'' 2011 Red Land High School graduate Chelsea Covington of New Cumberland told The Patriot-News earlier in the day. ''We were a little town that nobody even knew existed. Everybody around the world knows where we are now. It's crazy.''

Jody Dugan, watched the game with family and friends, and was proud of the team's effort. ''To have a team from Red Land go as far as they did, it's just amazing,'' she told the newspaper. ''They united a community. We're proud of them.''