The Warwick North Little League 11/12-year-old baseball all-stars captured the attention of the entire region this summer, and for that they have earned the honor of top sports story of 2016. Warwick North cruised through the district and state brackets
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The Warwick North Little League 11/12-year-old baseball all-stars captured the attention of the entire region this summer, and for that they have earned the honor of top sports story of 2016.
Warwick North cruised through the district and state brackets en route to an appearance in the New England Regional in Bristol, Connecticut.
Ace Colin Lemieux toed the rubber for the oppressively hot title game in mid-August, and he didn't disappoint. Fairfield struck first in the third inning after an error allowed shortstop Michael Iannazzo to cross the dish.
Lemieux shut Fairfield down from there, and in more ways than one.
He stepped up to the plate after Domenic Brazeau’s game-tying single and immediately left the park. Lemieux hammered a scorching, line-drive home run to left that would prove to be the difference, giving himself some insurance with a 3-1 lead.
He would tack on another with an RBI double in the fifth, after which he would be driven in by Sean Gallagher’s base hit.
Cullen McGrew faced pressure in the sixth, facing Martin Merturi with two runners on and two outs. McGrew buckled down, though, firing three straight strikes to kick off the celebration and warming the buses for Williamsport.
“It was just crazy, it’s like a dream come true,” McGrew said of the feeling he had after the final strike call. “We’re going to Williamsport, it’s just crazy. I still can’t believe it.”
Warwick North’s journey would end in Williamsport, but it left an indelible mark on the city and New England for years to come. It was the first Warwick Little League baseball squad to ever win a regional title, and it fittingly finds itself No. 1 again as the 2016 Story of the Year.
- Jacob Marrocco
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