Redemption.
That was the goal for the Pitt County Girls Softball Little League team.
One year earlier, the team from Winterville had suffered a heartbreaking loss in the 2023 championship match, losing 5-2 to the Massapequa International Little League team representing the Mid-Atlantic Region.
But with another chance at the crown, being one of the 12 teams to make it to the 2024 Little League Softball World Series held earlier this month, they weren’t going to be denied.
And with a big 1-0 win over Sterlington Little League from Louisiana in the final, they instead got to experience all the jubilation that comes with victory.
“We were just putting in all the work trying to get back here,” said pitcher Braelyn Johnson, who was one of six returning players from the 2023 team, in a post-game interview with ESPN. “This was our goal”
As the old saying goes, defense wins championships and the Pitt County girls proved that with a literally impervious tournament record as the host team posted five straight shutouts en route to North Carolina’s third little league softball title.
“It’s sort of surreal, right?” North Carolina manager Brad Medhus told ESPN. “We’ve been talking for a year now about unfinished business. We came out today and had to play two games – two 1-0 games so a little stressful – but you can’t beat this feeling right now. It’s pretty amazing.”
And they got to do it in their own backyard too with the tournament being held less than 10 miles away in Greenville, the home of the Little League Softball World Series since 2021, at the Stallings Stadium at Elm Street Park.
It was the third straight appearance for the Winterville girls and their second time representing North Carolina – which gets a bid for being the host region – after defeating Johnston County 15-0 in the state championship.
The Winterville girls started in the Purple Bracket and rattled off a 10-0 win over Negros Occidental Little League from the Asia-Pacific region, then followed it up with a 16-0 win over Emilia Romagna Little League from the Europe-Africa region, took down Cranston Western Little League 16-0 from the New England region and in the semifinal, beat Mid-Atlantic West Point Little League from the Mid-Atlantic region 1-0.
From regionals to the championship, it was seven straight victories for Pitt County, but so too was it for Sterlington who had shut out three of their four opponents en route to the final – although it was nearly an all NC final as Rowan Little League representing the Southeast Region made it to the Orange Bracket championship before falling 2-1 to Sterlington.
As could be expected though, the final match was a tight one and heading towards the final inning, it was a deadlocked 0-0 stalemate.
But all it takes is a spark…
At the bottom of the fifth and the bottom of the order, with two outs and facing an 0-2 count, shortstop Anna Rose was feeling the pressure.
But pressure makes diamonds and Rose stayed composed and nailed a line drive single just over the first baseman’s head to get on base.
And Pitt County wasted no time to capitalize on that opportunity as next up in the order came center fielder Candace Lynn and after fouling off the first pitch, she called her number on the second and drilled the ball to deep left field, just out of the reach of the Louisiana outfielder.
The crowd came to life as the ball continued to roll all the way to the wall and Rose got on her wheels, making it home to give North Carolina the crucial lead.
As Lynn stood up from the bag, Medhus could be heard hyping up his team’s latest hero: “What a bat, girl! What a bat!”
“I’m so happy right now,” Lynn said in a post-game interview with ESPN, tears rolling down her face. “It means a lot. It really does. For me, but also my team mostly.”
At the top of the sixth, Johnson stayed the course as she had all game and with one final strike, Pitt County had won.
Having finally secured their long-awaited crowns, the champions embraced their exuberance – yelling, jumping, crying, hugging – having created memories they’ll carry with themselves for the rest of their lives.
