The Warwick American 9/10-year-old all-stars haven’t trailed very often this summer, but on Tuesday night at Boyd Field – in their biggest game yet – they spotted Warwick Continental a two-run lead. It was the District 3 championship, on their home field, and they were in unfamiliar territory.

“We haven’t gone down very often, so we were a little concerned with that,” said American manager Gary Leonard. “But we knew we had the bats, from the top of the order right on through. I knew it was possible to put up a big number.”

That’s exactly what they did. After Continental took the lead with two runs in the top of the second, American responded immediately with a seven-run outburst in the bottom of the inning. David DeFusco’s three-run homer powered the surge, which put the American stars in the driver’s seat. They ended up with an 8-2 victory and a district championship.

“The few times we’ve been down, they’ve responded well, and they did that again,” Leonard said. “They held their heads up, and they knew we could get the runs. After Continental scored, it was really important to bounce back, and that’s what they did.”

The championship is the second in a row for an American 9/10-year-old team. Last year’s squad, which moved into the 11-year-old tourney this year, won the district and the state championship.

The new crop of American stars will try to take the same path, but whatever happens at the state tourney, the memories of Tuesday’s victory will stick with them for awhile.

American came into the game without a loss in the double-elimination round. Continental, which lost to American in the winners’ bracket final, came back to beat Warwick National in the losers’ bracket final.

The Continental stars knew they needed to beat American twice to win the title, and they certainly got off to the right kind of start. James Squire singled to start the second innings, and Sam Ceceri knocked him in with a double off the center-field fence. Matt Martinez followed with another double, plating Ceceri and giving Continental a 2-0 lead.

But American was undeterred.

Jaime Armstrong led off the bottom of the inning with a base hit, and Ryan Stiles fought through a long at-bat to work a walk. Noah Cost then looped a single into right, scoring Armstrong. Stiles moved to third and Cost took second on the throw in from right. After Continental pitcher Drew Almonte buckled down and got a strikeout, Tim Chaffee hit a single to score two, giving American a 3-2 lead.

American kept the pressure on. After Chaffee took an extra base on the throw after his single, Dan Pratt laced a hard ground ball to first. The ball bounced into right field, far enough to let Chaffee score. In keeping with American’s aggressive approach, Pratt also took an extra-base.

“From what I’ve seen, we’ve been the most aggressive team on the bases,” Leonard said. “I think it’s been a big asset. We have a lot of great runners on the team, and they’ve responded to what coach [Jim] Houle and I have tried to teach. It’s worked out well for us.”

Pratt took third on a wild pitch before Jarrod Houle delivered the at-bat of the game. Houle saw 10 pitches and eventually worked a walk. He stole second to put two in scoring position for DeFusco, but as it turned out, they could trot home. DeFusco crushed a 1-2 pitch over the fence in center to give American its 7-2 cushion.

“The boys just came through,” Leonard said. “It doesn’t matter who I put in. I’ve got 12 kids who can hit and 12 kids who can play defense.”

All the offense was more than enough, for Stiles, who had no trouble regrouping after Continental’s two-run second inning. Stiles retired the side in order in the third and fourth innings, and worked around a one-out single to work a scoreless fifth.

After American got an insurance run on an RBI single by Mike Angell in the fifth, Stiles got into a bit of trouble in the sixth but worked through it thanks to some help from his defense. Pratt made two nice plays at second base to get force-outs, leaving Continental with two runners on and two outs. Stiles reached the pitch-count limit at that point, so Pratt came on and got a groundout to end the game.

“When we first started, to be honest, I wasn’t sure we were going to have the horses for pitching,” Leonard said. “But after making our way through the tournament, I think our pitching is top-notch. We’ve had four kids pitch and I think all four of them could be a No. 1 pitcher on any other team. Ryan pitched great tonight. Bottom line, he throws strikes. That’s all we preach to the kids, and Ryan does it. He hit the corners, and he kept them off-balance.”

Stiles scattered seven hits and finished with four strikeouts. After the second inning, he surrendered just two hits.

“They hit the ball, they played tremendous defense and they pitched great – they did all the things you need to do to win a championship,” said Continental manager Peter Almonte. “They’re a very deserving champion. We’re happy for them, and I’m sure they’ll do well at states.”

Martinez led Continental with two hits. Drew Almonte, Andrew Hopgood, Squire and Ceceri also had hits. On the mound, Hopgood allowed just a run in 1.2 innings of relief.

The loss ended a strong run for Continental’s stars, who showed an uncanny ability to fight through adversity.

“Our guys battled the entire tournament,” Peter Almonte said. “We trailed in all eight games we played. To make it to the final trailing in every game is a pretty amazing feat. We’re really proud of our guys.”

The American stars will now move on to the four-team state tournament, which is scheduled to begin Sunday at 4 p.m. The tourney is being hosted by Warwick National, and American’s first-round opponent is District 1 champion Cranston Western.

At this point, American just wants to keep the good times rolling.

“They’re a great group of kids,” Leonard said. “They jelled down in Chariho when we beat them 4-3. That’s when we really became a team. They’re a great group. Now, they’re just enjoying the ride and having fun.”