Shortly after the Elmora Youth Little League team arrived in Williamsport, Pa., on Sunday, the battle began to remember why they’d come.

In the many hours before the Mid-Atlantic champions make their Little League World Series debut Friday night against Oregon, the pride of Elizabeth, N.J., are kept busy with ESPN sit-downs, gifts of brand new baseball gear and apparel, repeated brushes with foreign cultures, the swimming pool, pingpong and video games inside the 12-year-old players’ dorm-style sleeping quarters, known as “The Grove.”

“It’s Disney World, Christmas, all into one right now. It’s unique and overwhelmingly awesome,” coach Jairo Labrador said. “It’s been a jam-packed schedule. Mostly not baseball stuff. But the kids know why we’re here.”

The players don’t forget what’s important, even if they’re too young to remember.

The field where their dreams began is named for Thomas Hanratty, a lifelong Elizabethan and former Elmora youth baseball player, coached by his father, Thomas Sr., who also served as a league board member.

Hanratty, who became a New Jersey State Trooper, made a routine traffic stop on April 2, 1992, when he was struck by a passing vehicle, and tragically killed at the age of 24. The Elmora Troopers were named in his honor. His badge number (4971) remains on the team’s sleeve, shouted as a rallying cry.

“That’s the first thing we talk about when we form our team, what we’re representing, the name Hanratty, New Jersey State Police, and that badge number,” Labrador said. “4-9-7-1 is one of our chants. … It’s ingrained in their system.”

Several state troopers plan to be in Williamsport for the once-in-a-lifetime event.

“Elmora and the youth league team has carried on [Hanratty’s] memory and his love of baseball,” said Col. Patrick Callahan of the New Jersey State Police. “Williamsport, this time of year, it’s always fun to watch, but this one we’ve got a lot more invested in. He has a special place in our hearts and a special place in our history.”

Hanratty’s picture is seen as soon as you walk in the Somerville police station, dedicated in his memory. A memorial plaque remains near the site of the accident on Route 78. A stretch of the highway was named in his honor. Hanratty’s friends and family always represent him with a banner during an annual parade in Union.

Terry Hanratty — who coached Labrador on the Elizabeth High School football team — is touched to see his older brother’s legacy remain entrenched in the community he lived in, and on the team he played for, even if his worst memory is attached to the joy.

“It’s sad. It’s great. I have different feelings about it because it’s special that my best friend, my brother, is being remembered, which is really great,” Terry said. “They always have us come back for the Opening Day ceremonies. It’s really nice. They take the time to do that and they really don’t have to.”

Time is a gift. Elmora is making the most of it.

“I’m really excited that they’re doing so well and we’re very honored that they’re mentioning my brother,” said Terry, who also played on the Elmora youth baseball team. “I’m just so proud of them and the way they carry themselves. Everybody’s really excited. Everybody’s watching. It’s really been a fantastic experience.”