Iowa walks off on Warwick North to end LLWS run

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 8/25/16

Warwick North was two outs away from breaking the Rhode Island curse, but Johnston, Iowa, wasn't having it. Back-to-back RBI singles off Kenny Rix brought home the tying and winning runs to advance the Midwest

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Iowa walks off on Warwick North to end LLWS run

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Warwick North was two outs away from breaking the Rhode Island curse, but Johnston, Iowa, wasn’t having it.

Back-to-back RBI singles off Kenny Rix brought home the tying and winning runs to advance the Midwest champions through the losers’ bracket, eliminating Warwick North. Since Cranston Western in 1996, no Rhode Island representative in Williamsport has won more than once.

Despite the defeat, Warwick had a memorable run in Pennsylvania. After a deflating 7-2 loss against Endwell, New York, to open play, the New England squad answered with an 8-0 victory over Bend, Oregon.

That win set up a date with Iowa, which had previously upended Chula Vista, California, before falling to the elimination round after an extra-innings loss to Bowling Green, Kentucky.

It was a low-scoring affair on Tuesday afternoon, but it seemed to be enough for Warwick ace Colin Lemieux. Manager Ken Rix shuffled the lineup, putting Dom Brazeau, who was 5-for-5 in Williamsport to that point, in the leadoff spot, and hot hitter Chase Pariseau in the No. 2 hole.

The shakeup got Warwick off to an auspicious start. Pariseau lined a one-out single up the middle in the first, and he moved to third on Lemieux’s double down the left field line. Kenny Rix brought the initial run home on a sacrifice fly to center field.

That gave Lemieux a 1-0 cushion, more than enough with the way he pitched early on. Lemieux was virtually untouchable in the first four innings, punching out nine and at one point firing 21 straight pitches for strikes. His breaking ball frustrated Iowa, while his fastball hit almost all of the targets.

Iowa wasn’t able to break through until it got a boost off the bench. Kaiden Dinh was quickly down 0-2 to start the fifth inning, but it didn’t faze him. He launched a curveball into left center field to knot the score at 1. Batters were 0-for-5 with three strikeouts when down 0-2 in the count before Dinh’s pinch-hit appearance.

Tyler Moore was effective for Iowa in four innings of relief, but Kenny Rix put the only blemish on his record at the worst possible time. Rix drove a high fastball out of the park to left field to begin the sixth inning, giving Warwick the lead once again, 2-1.

The bottom of the order tried to add insurance all afternoon, but starter Jack Emanuel and Moore worked out of each situation. Cullen McGrew walked with two outs in the second and No. 9 hitter Dylan Bourret singled to put two runners on, but Brazeau flew out to end the frame.

Similar instances occurred in each of the last two innings. Pinch-hitters Cam Nadeau and Brendan McCaffrey set up a golden opportunity for the top of the order, notching back-to-back base hits to start the fifth. Moore locked in, getting three outs on 11 pitches, including a fly out from Lemieux to center to quiet the rally.

D.J. Sollitto, the No. 7 hitter, worked a double with two outs in the sixth, but Nadeau left him there on a ground out. The final three spots in the lineup combined to go 5-for-7 with a walk, a testament to the depth North has displayed all season long.

Even with the missed chances to expand its lead, Warwick was in prime position heading into Iowa’s last at-bats. Lemieux was up to 72 pitches, but a quick inning would send North to the next round.

Miles Risley wasted no time leading off the sixth, grounding a ball to Rix at third. He misplayed the shot down the line, though, and Risley strolled into second with a two-base error. Lemieux caught J.T. Garcia looking for the first out, his pitch count now up to 79.

Mike Siemer put runners at the corners with a base hit of his own, placing the winning run on first with cleanup hitter Emanuel at the dish. He worked a seven-pitch at-bat, taking outside for ball four to load the bags.

Lemieux exceeded his pitch limit, giving way to Kenny Rix in relief.

Iowa didn’t wait around on its comeback any longer after that point. Josh Larson grounded the first pitch he saw into left field to tie the game and reload the bases.

Then, it was Dinh causing problems for Warwick again. He matched Larson’s aggressiveness, nearly mirroring his base hit into left field to win the game.

Despite its time in Williamsport coming to a close, Warwick North had a remarkable run from districts to the Little League World Series. The team, which had essentially been working together since the players were 9 years old, had a special chemistry brewing for some time now.

Seeing it come to fruition this summer was no surprise.

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