The Warwick North softball team went from state champion to the Little League Softball World Series title game in the summer, and it is the Warwick Beacon’s story of the year.

The squad had accomplished its goal for the season early on, easily defeating Cranston National Budlong for the state championship, 20-3. 

Then, Warwick North got on a run.

The team rolled through the Eastern Regional and earned a spot in the LLSWS in Portland, Ore., as a result.

After a rough 3-2 loss to Uganda, the Europe-Africa representative, to start the tournament, Warwick North did not lose another game heading into the title matchup with Rowan Little League of Salisbury, N.C.

The East representatives earned a come-from-behind win against Puerto Rico, 10-9, after that defeat before a crucial 4-1 victory over Texas. Warwick North finished atop Pool A after shutting out host Oregon 5-0.

In the semifinals, Emily Carter stepped up on the mound. Warwick led 5-4 in the bottom half of the final inning with opponent Iowa enjoying a first-and-second, one-out situation. Carter built her next batter to a 3-1 count before a visit from head coach Kevin DeTroia.

After that point, Carter came back to strike out the last two batters of the game to earn Warwick North a berth in the World Series final.

Though the team fell just short of a world championship, the run was a memorable one.

“It was really cool [to represent Warwick], but it was kind of nerve racking for a lot of girls,” Warwick North’s Hailey Mackinnon said at T.F. Green Airport once the team arrived back from Oregon. “We tried our hardest but we got second place and that’s still really good, out of the whole world.”

For the semifinal and title games, more than 100 people gathered at Dave’s Bar and Grill on Post Road for viewing parties. Friends, families and fans packed the bar, dining room and back room to support the team. 

“Last night was a rough night,” Warwick North coach Carlos Rodas said at a rally for the team at Warwick West Side. “Few hours after the game we were all still really down, but going on social media and stuff and seeing all the support back home really helped to kind of turn the tide, really knowing what we achieved.”

Warwick North has the talent to take another shot at a World Series title, but for now it can enjoy the story it wrote during its run in 2015.

- Jacob Marrocco