The Cranston community was in full force on Tuesday night to show its support of the CLCF-CWLL softball team that is headed to the Little League World Series.

The Thirsty Beaver hosted a fundraising event for the team, which will be leaving for North Carolina on Wednesday morning and playing its first game next Monday. Local figures made the trip to help the team, including Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins, along with many other local officials and members of the softball community.

As the Gals get prepared for the biggest tournament of their lives, they are looking forward to representing their home state and were thrilled to see the support on Tuesday.

“We’re really excited to (represent) our state, especially as the smallest state. We work really well together as a cohesive team. There is no drama and everyone is comfortable with each other,” said pitcher Olivia Graziano, who is also encouraged to see people catching on to local softball. “It’s exciting to see how much people are interested in it. As girls, sometimes you don’t get as much turnout as the other sports do, so it’s cool to see everyone come out for this.”

Lawson Bastia added:  “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To go and be one of the best 12 teams in the world is special. We’re all friends and we all support each other so much.”