WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Sixteen teams gathered for the Little League World Series, some from thousands of miles away, but all feeling right at home.

“It’s beyond exciting to be here, said Sammamish, Wash., assistant coach Matt Fitzgibbons. “We’ve kind of talked about it among the coaches and we were calling it the Augusta National of baseball. Everything is first class. The people are first class. The facilities are first class. It’s exceeded our wildest expectations.”

Newark, Del., pitcher Nate Hardcastle, 12, called it “probably the most exciting thing to happen to me so far in my life.”

The 67th World Series begins in Thursday, when Panama will face Puerto Rico at 1 p.m.

Other games are Corpus Christi, Texas, vs. Sammamish, Wash., Australia vs. Mexico and South Nashville, Tenn., vs. Westport, Conn. The final is Aug. 25.