Repayment.
This was the goal of the Pitt County girls softball little league team.
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A year earlier, the Winterville team suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the 2023 championship game, losing 5-2 to the Massapequa International Little League team representing the Mid-Atlantic region.
But since they are one of the 12 teams that made it to the 2024 Little League Softball World Series, which took place earlier this month, they didn’t miss the opportunity.
And with a clear 1-0 victory over Sterlington Little League from Louisiana in the final, they were able to experience all the excitement that comes with victory instead.
“We just made every effort to get back here,” pitcher Braelyn Johnson, one of six returning players from the 2023 team, said in a postgame interview with ESPN. “That was our goal.”
As the old saying goes, defense wins championships, and the Pitt County girls proved that with a literally unmatched tournament record, holding the host team to five straight clean sheets en route to North Carolina’s third Little League softball title.
“It’s kind of surreal, isn’t it?” North Carolina manager Brad Medhus told ESPN. “We’ve been talking about unfinished business for a year now. Today we had to play two games – two 1-0 games, so it was a little stressful – but you can’t beat that feeling right now. It’s pretty incredible.”
And they could do it in their own backyard, too, because the tournament was held less than 10 miles away in Greenville, home of the Little League Softball World Series since 2021, at Stallings Stadium in Elm Street Park.
It was the Winterville girls’ third consecutive appearance and their second time representing North Carolina – which is eligible as the host region – after defeating Johnston County 15-0 in the state championship.
The Winterville girls started in the Purple Bracket and picked up a 10-0 win over Negros Occidental Little League of the Asia-Pacific Region, followed that up with a 16-0 win over Emilia Romagna Little League of the Europe-Africa Region, defeated Cranston Western Little League of the New England Region 16-0, and defeated Mid-Atlantic West Point Little League of the Mid-Atlantic Region 1-0 in the semifinals.
From the regionals to the championship, it was seven straight wins for Pitt County, but the same was true for Sterlington, which knocked off three of its four opponents en route to the finals – although it nearly was an all-NC final, as Rowan Little League, representing the Southeast Region, made it to the Orange Bracket championship before losing 2-1 to Sterlington.
However, as expected, the final match was close and ended in a 0-0 tie towards the end of the last inning.
But all it takes is a spark…
At the end of the fifth inning, with two outs and the score at 0-2, shortstop Anna Rose was under pressure.
But pressure is on the diamonds and Rose stayed calm and hit a line drive single just over the first baseman’s head to get on base.
And Pitt County wasted no time in capitalizing on the opportunity, as center fielder Candace Lynn was next in line. After committing a foul on the first pitch, she called her number on the second and hit the ball deep into left field, just out of the Louisiana outfielder’s reach.
The crowd came to life as the ball continued to roll to the wall and Rose got on his wheels to give North Carolina the decisive lead.
As Lynn got up from the box, Medhus could be heard praising his team’s newest hero: “What a slugger, girl! What a slugger!”
“I’m so happy right now,” Lynn said in an interview with ESPN after the game, tears streaming down her face. “This means a lot to me. It really does. For me, but most of all for my team.”
At the start of the sixth inning, Johnson stayed in her line as she had done all game, and with one final shot, Pitt County had won.
After finally securing their long-awaited crowns, the champions let their excitement run wild – screaming, jumping, crying, hugging – and creating memories that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
