PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- There's nothing more American than a baseball game. And so it's fitting that 43 young people today became US citizens at Hadlock Field!

The kids, who range in age from 7 to 19, all became eligible for citizenship when their parents became citizens. They were sworn in right before this afternoon's Sea Dogs game, and the Sea Dogs' Jayson Hernanedez led them in their first ever Pledge of Allegiance as citizens.

The new citizens' families come from the Congo, Germany, the Philippines and Somalia.  But most of young people themselves have lived in this country nearly their whole lives.

Each of the young people got tickets to the Sea Dogs game, too. And they held the large American Flag out on the field during the National Anthem.

NEWS CENTER