The 70th Little League World Series will begin today, and for the first time ever, a Warwick team will be donning the New England uniforms.

There have been several quality teams produced by Warwick West Side, Warwick National, Warwick American and Warwick Continental throughout the years, but none of those teams were able to reach the Little League pinnacle.

It turned out that it would take a truly special group to accomplish that feat.

This year’s Warwick North team constructed a magical run through the district, state and regional tournaments, ultimately punching its ticket to Williamsport with a 5-1 victory over Fairfield, Connecticut, on Saturday.

However, none of that surprised Warwick North manager Ken Rix.

Rix knew his group had this kind of potential for the last few years now.

“Probably when they were 9 years old,” Rix responded when asked at what point he believed he had a team that could make it to Williamsport. “This team has been together for a while, and I’m not trying to sound arrogant in any way, you just dream of it. You know when you have a special group of kids that all get along together. They’ve been playing together for years.”

Warwick North lost just one game in its journey to the Little League World Series, a District 3 tilt against South Kingstown Little League, but other than that, Rix’s squad has been flawless.

And although Colin Lemieux has been Warwick North’s workhorse, everyone on the roster has contributed along the way.

It has also received standout play from Kenny Rix, who delivered a memorable walk-off grand slam in the regional, Domenic Brazeau and Sean Gallagher, but Warwick North’s depth was one of the factors that certainly set it apart.

Many times, when substitutes step to the plate to pinch-hit it can provide the pitcher with a few stress-free outs.

However, that wasn’t the case when opposing pitchers faced Warwick North.

When substitutes were brought in, the lineup didn’t miss a beat.

“We promote all along that just because you’re not a starter, that doesn’t mean you’re not extremely valuable to this team,” Ken Rix said when asked about the depth his team possesses. “It’s a credit to the guys that aren’t starting – they work just as hard, if not harder, than anyone at practice. They don’t let up because they know how important their role is with this team. Without them, we don’t win. It takes all 13, there’s no doubt about that.”

Now, Warwick North is one of just 16 teams vying for a world championship, with its opener set for 3 p.m. today against New York.

There’s no question that Warwick North will see stronger competition in Williamsport, teams that have tremendous depth similar to it.

If Warwick North does the little things well, though, there’s no reason why it can’t make some noise in the double-elimination tournament.

It has several players that can toss quality innings – a crucial component of the tournament with a high volume of innings in a short period of time – and Warwick North has proven that it can come through with timely hits.

It should be interesting to see how Warwick stacks up against some of the best talent in the world.

However, just making it to Williamsport is a rare accomplishment in its own right.

Win or lose, the next week will be an experience that Warwick North players, coaches and fans will remember for the rest of their lives.