Little Leaguers form close bonds despite worlds-apart cultures (and a touching sidenote & photo)

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.— Garrett Williams has pitched just one game in the Little League World Series, but opponents already have given him a nickname.

When Williams walks by the team from Maracaibo, Venezuela, the team shouts, “El Diablo.”

The nickname, meaning the devil, is a playful tribute to Williams’ 17-strikeout performance in Lubbock Western’s first game of the Series.

While many of the Western players said prior to arriving that they were looking forward to meeting the other players, it seems the Texans have developed a special bond with the Venezuelans.

“We share a dorm with them, so we share a bathroom with them, they play pingpong together down in the rec hall,” Western coach Gerald Arredondo said. “The other day, all the boys were with their parents except Bryndan was with me and the Venezuelans were going to dinner, so they took him and he was sitting there in the middle and that was pretty cool.”

The players have traded pins — a popular past time at the World Series — and they’ve attended games together when they leave the dorms.

Bryndan Arredondo said the language barrier hasn’t been much of a problem. He doesn’t speak Spanish and the Venezuelans don’t know much English.

“You find a way to communicate,” Bryndan Arredondo said. “You can use signs, or point to something, or I ask this guy (my dad Gerald).”

The elder Arredondo helps with some of the translations. He said Bryndan doesn’t speak the language but hanging around the Venezuelans has piqued his son’s interest in learning.

For the other players, the difference in language hasn’t prevented them from spending time with their new buddies.

“We hang out a lot because our rooms are right next to each other,” Western first baseman Tyler Thorne said. “They’re pretty cool. We have a pretty close relationship.”

Western qualified for the United States semifinals by winning Pool B, while Venezuela was the last game of the night on Wednesday. A win by the Venezuelans over Mexico would put them in the international semifinals with Chinese Taipai, the other representative from Pool D.

Several of the families from Western were in attendance for Venezuela’s final game of pool play.

The Arredondos were sitting in the second row behind the third-base dugout, where Venezuela was positioned. When Omar Villalobos hit a three-run home run in the first inning, the Arredondos waved in support to the Venezuelans as they went back to their dugout.

“The Venezuelans are pretty cool,” Western manager Ed Thorne said. “If we ever play Japan or Venezuela it will be pretty ironic because Japan is right below us (in the dorms) and Venezuela is to our right. So, we’re all together. To have that type of matchup, if it turns out to be that way, it will be pretty weird, but it also will be pretty cool.”

The Japanese team was working out on Wednesday at the same indoor facility as the Western All-Stars. While one team participated in batting practice at one end of the complex, the other team took fielding practice at the other end.

As the teams switched sides, several of the Japanese players held out their hand to give a Western player a high-five.

We are so proud of those boys. You will like this too:

Story last updated at 5:21 a.m. Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Wounded uncle stays on mind of All-Star Lilley
LUBBOCK TO WILLIAMSPORT Inspiration

JEFF WALKER
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

The Lubbock Western All-Stars have inspired a lot of people in West Texas with their run to the Little League World Series.

Their fan base stretches well beyond the South Plains, however.

Air Force Staff Sergeant Scott Lilley is the uncle of Western right fielder Brock Lilley. He is in a hospital in Bethesda, Md., after undergoing successful surgery on Tuesday to tend to a head wound he suffered while in Iraq.

Brock left with the rest of the team late Monday night to catch a plane in Waco for Williamsport, Pa. His father, Matt, and his family are heading to Maryland today before joining their son in Williamsport for the World Series.

“I called the team (Tuesday) morning and told them to let Brock know his uncle was OK,” Matt Lilley said on Tuesday. “The surgery went well.”

Sergeant Scott Lilley

Scott Lilley, 28, has been in the Air Force for almost nine years. He was trained as a military policeman and was re-deployed to Iraq in 2006. Four months ago, his life changed when he was hit by shrapnel while returning from a training mission.

The shrapnel, which required only two stitches, went through the left side of his temple. The medic on site gave him treatment to prevent his brain from swelling, which the family later learned saved Scott Lilley’s life.

Two days after he was airlifted to the base hospital, Scott Lilley was transferred to a hospital in Germany. His parents were called in Roswell, N.M., to come to Germany for moral support.

Several of the parents of the Western All-Stars surprised the Lilleys by seeing them off at the Lubbock airport. They also gave them gift bags for their trip.

“What they didn’t tell mom and dad is that they have a medical scale from 3 to 14 where 3 means there is no hope,” Matt Lilley said. “(Scott) was a 4. When they got to Germany, they were actually making preparations to salvage what organs they needed. ... What they told mom and dad was when they brought Scott out of the coma they wanted them to be there.”

Before leaving for Germany, Scott’s parents (Frank and Jolene) wanted to call their son. Even if he was in a coma, they wanted him to hear their voices.

“I told them to call them and have the charge nurse just put the phone to Scott’s ear,” Matt said, fighting back tears. “I get all choked up. He has had no response up until this point. ... Mom and dad called him as they were in the airport and they put the phone to Scott’s ear and he reached for the phone.”

S. Lilley

From that moment, Matt continued, Scott’s condition has improved. He lapsed in and out of a coma for the first five weeks, Matt said, but Scott always showed signs of fighting.

Though his condition has improved, Scott has received treatment in Florida - and back in Maryland - in the last two months. The surgery on Tuesday is called a cranioplasty, which repaired defects in the skull incurred during Scott’s first exploratory surgery in Germany.

The Lilleys have grown up playing baseball, mostly for Roswell Noon Optimist, the team Western beat in the Southwest Region Tournament championship game.

Frank and Jolene Lilley have been with Scott since he arrived in Germany in April, so they’ve missed Western’s run to Williamsport. Frank went to a Web site, www.caringbridge.org, to provide family and friends with updates on Scott’s condition through a journal.

Frank’s journal entry on Saturday night - one day after Western earned the trip to Williamsport - began like this, “Not much to report today as Scott seems to have gone into hibernation. Dr. Armanda suggested that he just eat, sleep and hang around, so that’s what we did - that and watch several LL baseball games to check out the competition.”

Brock Lilley’s grandparents aren’t expected to miss the World Series. They plan to arrive in Williamsport for the first two games of pool play before returning to Maryland.

“We’ve always wanted to go see the LL World Series, but never dreamed that we would be going to watch our grandson,” Frank Lilley wrote in one journal entry. “The Lubbock parents and kids are a good group, and we sorely missed this summer’s games. I think ending the season by watching them in Williamsport will make up for this lost time. Several of these parents were able to see us off from the Lubbock airport to begin ‘Scott’s Great Adventure,’ and I remember how this made us feel as if we were a part of their extended family - overwhelmed to the point of tears, a feeling that I’m sure they also had (Friday) after the final out. Remember, first you were representing Western, then you were representing West Texas and now you’re representing the Southwest. GO SOUTHWEST!!!”

Scott was presented with the Purple Heart and later received a phone call and met President Bush and former President Bush (Scott and his parents spent the Fourth of July watching fireworks at the White House, and the current President Bush presented Scott with a presidential coin).

The Western All-Stars signed plenty of baseballs for fans on Sunday at a pep rally. They also have signed one for Scott and have sent well-wishes to him on his Web site.

“(Scott) called Brock after the championship game to congratulate him,” Matt said. “It takes a lot for Scott to talk, but his voice and his strength is getting stronger and stronger. He’s very aware of what the boys have done and what they can do and where they’re headed.”

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