The Warwick North 10-year-old All-Star team split its weekend slate, falling to Westerly, 14-6 in the first round of the double-elimination tournament, but then topping North Kingstown/Wickford, 3-2 in the losers bracket on Sunday.

Westerly jumped ahead 6-0 in the first inning of Game 1, but North would battle back in the final innings and cut the lead to just 2 at 8-6. Westerly would roll in the late innings to claim the victory.

North would play a much cleaner game against NK/Wickford, and would escape a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning to hold on for the 3-2 win.

“I think even in the first game where we had given up six runs in the first inning, we could blame it on a lot of things, but the kids never gave up and they stayed in it and scored runs until the very end. They’re very resilient and definitely will never quit,” said North coach Jim Forcier.

Nerves played a factor in the early part of Game 1, according to Forcier.

“The first game, they were a bit nervous with the ins and outs of it, it was their first game as All-Stars. They got on the field in front of their family and friends and I think the nerves may have gotten the best of them, being in that environment. We settled in after the first two innings and battled right back. In Game 2 we told them to just relax and have some fun, we had good pitching and made the plays on the field that we needed to,” said Forcier. “On our way to Game 2 it started hailing and the kids were nervous that we weren’t going to play, but then they went on to play one of the best games I’ve ever seen. They battled until the end and won 3-2, had bases loaded in the sixth inning and stopped them from scoring.”

North moved on to face East Greenwich on Monday evening, but the results were not available at press time. Forcier felt that Sunday’s win set the club up well, and that his team may be hitting its stride at the right time.

“The kids are battling, they’re listening to the coaches and doing what they’re supposed to,” said Forcier. “They finally saw the benefits of it and hopefully can keep it going.”

The Warwick North 10-year-old All-Star team includes: Alex Dirsch, Caden Moitoso, Connor Forcier, Jwellz Oliveira, Riley Barker, Paul Smith, Stephen Richardson, Zachari Fontenault, Michael Moreira, Charlie Urso, Kyle Rezendes, Jackson Dewar and Payton Moran. Coaches include Jim Forcier, Paul Smith and John Moreira.