That was the case at the residence of State Rep. Jamie Flick, R-South Williamsport, who hosted the teams and families from Chinese Taipei of the Asia-Pacific region and Nevada of the Mountain Region for a steak dinner on Tuesday after both teams won to advance to the Winners’ Bracket Finals in their respective brackets on Monday.

“This is an annual event. I always pick one international team and one American. I like to think of it as an ambassadorship of NATO,” Flick said. You can tell just by looking around, that they’re mingling with each other and that the language is not a barrier. The language is baseball,” Flick said.

Flick, who is serving as a team host of the Midwest team this year, said that this is the fifth year of this event and it’s featured teams from all over the world. Ribeye steaks were the highlight, but there was plenty of delicious and varied offerings,

“So, we’ve cooked 125 steaks, and then beans, jambalaya potato salad, hot dogs for another 125 people,” Flick said. “We try to figure out what teams we’re going to get, and then base the menu on that. It’s not always easy, logistically, because it depends on who is winning and who is losing, so you have to make some last minute adjustments.”

The food was a big hit.

“I ate the ribeye, the mac and cheese, and a hot dog. It was really good. The ribeye was cooked perfectly, and the hot dog was really good, and mac and cheese was perfect,” Mountain player Mason Schutte said.

The event also served as a way to get the kids away from the hustle and bustle of the grove and relax before they play some of the biggest games of their lives.

“To have not only a day off mentally, but also the opportunity for some outstanding nourishment, and to get to see the parents and make some new friends, we have some new friends now, is great,” Mountain manager TJ Fescher said.

“So they get a day off and relax and enjoy the enjoy the weather, and then (we) hope that with this relaxing environment and all that, and then they get to have a good performance (Wednesday),” Chinese Taipei manager Lai Min-Wan said.

Plenty of family members, young and old, relished the opportunity to spend extended time with their little leaguers, who are typically busy at the Little League World Series complex.

“We haven’t gotten to see our kid very often. So, the first thing I did was come and try to find him and give big hugs,” Sheena Gallegos, mom of Mountain star Garrett Gallegos said.

Players were joined by some special guests who spoke briefly to both teams, with assistance from the Chinese Taipei team translator, Philip Chang. Karen Stotz Myers, daughter of Little League founder Carl Stotz, told both teams the story of how Little League was founded back in 1939, and used original equipment from the league as props. Then, Flick brought up Donald “Doc” Shearer, a participant in the first Little League World Series held in 1947. After that, Bill Martin, the first player to ever throw a no-hitter in the Little League World Series in 1950 and a Little League World Series champion, was recognized.

Overall, the event was a great success.

“I think it showcases the whole community. We get so many great compliments from around the world here of how people love the area. It’s not showcasing myself. It showcases the entire Lycoming County and all of Central Pennsylvania,” Flick said.

Over the weekend, Flick and fellow Midwest Team Host John Engel took the Midwest team fishing.

“My other (host),, John Engle and I, each year we want to get the kids out of the Grove, off campus and do something fun. So this year, the team, being from South Dakota, these kids fish and they hunt. So, we thought we’d take them up to Blanchard. John Engle organized that and we took them up. Every single kid caught fish. Every kid went swimming. It’s just a nice break from baseball,” Flick said.

Flick noted the fishing rods were donated by the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy.