MILLVILLE, N.J. – — – It wasn”t exactly what head coach Warren Stevens wanted, but it was good enough to get the North Olympic 16-U fastpitch team further than it’s been in four years.
By winning one of its two games on Tuesday, North Olympic advanced to the second round of the Babe Ruth Softball 16 & Under World Series for the first time since 2002.
The squad clinched the berth Tuesday morning with an 8-0 win over New Kent, Va., before backing into the next round with a 7-0 loss to Plantation later in the day.
North Olympic finished third in its group with a 2-2 record in pool play, earning third place and a matchup against host Millville, N.J., (3-1) at 9:30 a.m. today in the double-elimination bracket.
“We”re going to have to be at the very top of our game to win that one,” Stevens said of Millville, which took second place in their division.
“They’ve got a home crowd that is just unbelievable.”
If North Olympic wins, it will face Wausau, Wis. — a team it lost to 2-1 in the opening game — at 2:30 p.m. later in the day.
A loss would put North Olympic in a loser-out game on Thursday at noon.