World Series win

Warwick North in semi-finals

Mike Weber
Posted 8/18/15

Warwick North capped off pool play with a 5-0 win over Tigard, Ore. Yesterday afternoon, to secure the top overall spot in Pool A of the Little League Softball World Series. The team will play the …

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World Series win

Warwick North in semi-finals

Posted

Warwick North capped off pool play with a 5-0 win over Tigard, Ore. Yesterday afternoon, to secure the top overall spot in Pool A of the Little League Softball World Series. The team will play the second-best team in Pool B tonight at 7 p.m. EST.

Warwick grabbed all of its runs in the fourth inning. Sydni Bigelli started the scoring when she singled home Olivia Murray.

Bryanna Rastella then plated Mickey Capicotto with a bases-loaded bunt single. However, an error on the play also allowed Sierra Ricci and Hailey Mackinnon to come home, making it 4-0.

Maddy D’Amato added the final run with an RBI groundout to score Rastella.

Ricci tossed a complete-game shutout for Warwick North.

Warwick (13-1 overall, 3-1 LLSWS), guided by manager Kevin DeTroia, saw its 10-game win streak end in the first game of the tournament in a 3-2 loss to the Europe/Africa Champions of Kampala, Uganda on Friday. Warwick bounced back while playing another close game Saturday and pulled out a 10-9 victory over the Latin America Champions from Maunabo, Puerto Rico. Warwick continued its strong showing with an impressive 4-1 win Sunday over the Seguin, Texas. Little League Southwest Region Champions (2-1) at Alperose Stadium.

“Emily Carter (starting pitcher) proved today that when she is at her best like she was today, then we’re tough to beat,” said DeTroia, whose squad is the first Rhode Island team to advance to the World Series since 1979. “It sure was exciting because we really needed this win. The girls played today the same way they played back home in the regionals. They just stayed well focused and played their best. They never gave up and just played an unbelievable game. We just didn’t play too well against Uganda, but we turned things around in our second game against Puerto Rico.”

Sunday’s matchup was a must-win for Warwick in order to keep alive its hopes of advancing to Tuesday’s semifinal. Unlike its first two contests in which it fell behind, Warwick never trailed as it came out and played with a high intensity level to stay on top from start-to-finish.

Warwick leadoff batter D’Amato (1-for-3) ignited an early rally as she reached base after drawing a walk from Seguin pitcher Marisse Bradley. D’Amato stole second and then advanced to third on a fielder’s choice sacrifice groundout at first by Alyssa Richard (1-for-2, triple, walk, run). D’Amato scored on an RBI triple deep to left field by catcher Dyonna Rodas (2-for-3, three RBIs, single), giving Warwick a 1-0 first-inning advantage.

“We had to win today and I thought that everyone played their best to help us do that,” said Rodas, who leads Warwick’s offense while hitting 5-for-9, with nine RBIs in the first three games. “I think we were a little nervous at times, but I knew that we could pull it out. Our team has a tendency to play better when we have lots of pressure on us. I have lots of faith in our outfielders and infielders. I know that they are always capable of making key plays for us when we need them.”

“It was very exciting to get some runs in and hopefully we’ll continue playing up to our potential,” said D’Amato. “I think we’ll have a good chance to win the championship. This is something that we’ve been working on for the last four years when we all started playing together as nine-year-olds. Being here in the World Series is like a dream come true for our team.”

Seguin then responded by knotting it, 1-1, in the bottom half of the frame. After a scoreless second, Warwick then regained the lead in the third inning. Richard smashed a high fly deep to right field for a triple. Rodas then singled with a grounder up the middle, driving home Richard to give Warwick a 2-1 edge.

“This was just an amazing win today and I think we’ll have a very good chance of advancing to the semis,” said Richard. “We usually play much better when we’re under lots of pressure and that was the situation today and we pulled out a big win.”

Following a scoreless fourth, Warwick extended its lead in the fifth. Warwick loaded the bases with a leadoff walk by Rastella (1-for-2, single), a D’Amato single and a Richard walk. Rodas then connected for a sacrifice fly RBI as Rastella sprinted home for a 3-1 Warwick lead.

“It’s awesome to get another win and I think we have a good chance to win the championship,” said Rastella.

Seguin, which out-hit Warwick, 9-7, threatened to score in the bottom of the fifth with four baserunners. Warwick made a key defensive play when left fielder Murray took control of a ball that dropped in for a single and she threw a bullet to catcher Rodas, who tagged a baserunner out at home to prevent her from scoring, as it remained 3-1 going into the final frame.

Warwick then added an insurance run in the sixth when leadoff batter Murray walloped a ball deep to right field for a triple. Murray continued running the bases and quickly ran home on a Seguin infield throwing error, giving Warwick a 4-1 lead. Warwick’s defense again stopped Seguin from scoring in the bottom of the sixth. Carter (five strikeouts) then induced an infield groundout that first baseman Richard easily made for the final defensive putout at the conclusion of the contest.

“I’m having a lot of fun being here with my team and we’re all playing very well right now,” said Carter, who kept batters off balance while throwing a combination of curveballs, dropballs and changeups. “I feel like we’ll have a good chance of reaching the semifinals and hopefully the championship game too as long as we continue playing like we did today against the Southwest team.”

In Warwick’s opening contest last Friday, the Kampala, Uganda All-Stars (2-2) overcame a 1-0 Warwick fifth-inning lead with a three-run rally to make it 3-1. Warwick came back in the top of the sixth with a run to trim the final margin to 3-2. Richard (3-for-3, two singles, double) and Rodas (1-for-3, double, RBI) were the only players to get a hit as Uganda out-hit Warwick 6-4. Sierra Ricci started in the pitching circle and she was relieved by Carter, who threw 4 2/3 innings.

In Warwick’s second game versus Puerto Rico, it had to come-from-behind twice to get the victory. Warwick fell behind, 2-0, in the first and, 9-7, in the top of the sixth. Warwick scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull out the key win. Ricci pitched 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts, six walks and eight hits allowed. Carter relieved her in the sixth and allowed two hits with a walk and a strikeout in 1/3 of an inning. Rodas (2-for-4, five RBIs), Rastella (1-for-2, two RBIs) and Ricci (1-for-2, RBI) led the offense. Warwick, which was out-hit in its first three games by a total of 25-17, was out-hit, 10-6, by Puerto Rico (1-2).

Many of Warwick’s fans have been enjoying tourist attractions while visiting such famous nearby places such as Multnomah Falls, Mount St. Helens and the Oregon Coast.

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