It didn't take long into the first inning for fans at Volunteer Stadium to begin chanting "Uganda," as the team became the first-ever African team to play in the Little League Baseball World Series.
For Jim Nelson, of Chicago, it was a surreal moment as he watched team manager Henry Odong's Lugazi Little League squad take the field.
Nelson remembered teaching Odong the game when he traveled through Africa with a Christian group about 20 years ago.
"It's just an amazing feat for this, to see this happen," he said.
He said it made sense that Odong - who he nicknamed "Bouncer" because of his size over others his age - eventually would coach baseball, as he always was a student of the game.
"He asked more questions than we had time to answer," Nelson remembered.
And although the team's family wasn't able to make the trip to South Williamsport, Nelson wasn't alone in the section reserved for family members.
Friends and family of those individuals who helped with the team's trip to the World Series also cheered from the VIP section.
Dan King, of Trout Run, was a missionary for five years in Africa and spent time in Uganda. So when he heard they were coming to town, he came with a sign reading "We are proud of you," in Swahili.
"I'm just excited to see their excitement and their sense of awe," King said.
He couldn't speak for everyone, but he believes that most supporters were at the game because it was such a "feel good story."
"I think they're pulling for the underdog," he said.
But the team's support wasn't limited to those sitting in the VIP section. There were Ugandan supporters throughout the entire stadium wearing the team's shirt.
Cindy Weaver's husband, Pastor Gary Weaver, is one of the team's uncles and so she brought members of their church, Weslyn United Church in Bloomsburg, with her.
"(Gary) said that (the team is) very humbled by the whole Little League family," she said.
Phil Burrell and his family were some of the group from Weaver's church who made the trip to root on the Ugandan team, which won the Middle East/Africa Region.
"Hey, somebody has to root for the team," Burrell said. "We still think a couple of smiling faces ... will brigthen their spirits."
Connor Hart, of New York, sported a Uganda shirt and said, like Burrell, the support hopefully will help them play well.
"I feel like it gives them something to play for," he said.
"It probably gives them confidence and helps that someone is cheering them on," Duncan Spilsbury, of New Hampshire, said.
King wondered if, since the playing conditions are different than they're used to, it would hurt them in the Series. Nelson said as long as they "just play the game they know, I think they will be fine."
