Tiverton Little League Softball Making Run At State Championship

TIVERTON, RI — Tiverton's Little League softball team won the Rhode Island District 2 championship and will compete on its home field for a state championship in the Majors tournament next Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

"Tiverton has never won a State tournament before in baseball and softball, so this is a big deal for the community," said Mike DeCotis, the softball director for Tiverton Little League.

To get into the state tournament, Tiverton's team of 11 and 12-year-old girls dominated against Portsmouth and defeated Barrington twice.

DeCotis said he was proud of the girls, because Barrington and Portsmouth are usually the two programs that win the tournament.

"The whole community is really proud of them, and baseball gets a lot of attention," DeCotis said.
"Sometimes, the girls don't get the recognition. This is the only team still alive. There's a lot of pride involved."

During the three games, the team outscored their opponents 59-7. Pitchers Brooke Sowa and Adalie Wolfe dominated from the mound, giving up just two hits and striking out 17 batters the entire district tournament.

"If they're not hitting the ball, you don't need defense," DeCotis said. "Not that we don't have defense, we do, but we didn't need a lot of it."

If Tiverton can come out victorious in the state tournament, the girls will move on to the regional tournament in Bristol, Connecticut, which takes place July 23-28. Those games will be broadcasted on ESPN+, as qualifiers for the Little League World Series, which is scheduled for Aug. 9 to 15, in Greenville, North Carolina.

This means a long season of hard work for the players and coaches is about to get even longer, as long as the team keeps winning. DeCotis thanked Manager Michael Martin and coaches Nathaniel Carleton and Jessica Silvia for making the months-long commitment.

"I also coach in the league, so I can tell you how much it takes to start in April and March, DeCotis said. "We start practicing when it's cold in April."

"The coaches do everything in Little League," DeCotis said. "They have to rake the field. They put the chalk in the chalk machine. It's amazing what these people are willing to give up in their personal life to make sure these kids have this experience."