Waterford — East Lyme and Waterford. On one side, tears and despair. On the other, smiles and jubilation.

Sports in a nutshell.

It was a game that saved much of the excitement until the very end, with East Lyme leading by one until the bottom of the sixth inning. But Waterford saved its best for last, tacking on two runs with its back against the wall and coming back for a 2-1 victory Thursday to sweep the District 10 Little League (11-12) softball championship series.

Clapping hands and broad smiles dominated the dugout as the Waterford girls jumped up and down in excitement. They advance to the Connecticut Division III tournament in East Hartford beginning Wednesday, July 8, where they will face District 9 champion Madison.

"It was a great game, it was a Waterford ending." Waterford manager Joe Nott said.

"These kids never gave up."

And for East Lyme, nothing but pride remained. Its ultimate goal of a district championship fell short, but manager Mike Quagan told his team there really is more than just winning, and had a simple message for his team.

"Keep your heads up because (you) played such a solid game," he said. "I'm so proud of them."

The first inning produced nothing but zeroes. Waterford put runners on first and second with one out in the second after Madison Nott and Jessica San Juan singled, but East Lyme pitcher Olivia Quagan worked out of the jam.

It became a common theme. On the rare occasion that Waterford was able to land a runner on base, Quagan came up big.

"Solid pitcher on the mound," Nott said. "Our hitters didn't come until the latter part of the game."

East Lyme pounced first in the top of the third when Grace Wargo outran a throw for an infield single. The next batter, Sophia Gannoe grounded out to move Wargo to second, and Angie Venditti's double to left brought Wargo home to give East Lyme a 1-0 lead, although Venditti was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple.

And in the top of the sixth with Venditti on second, East Lyme threatened to extend its lead, but Waterford pitcher Rachel Miller battled back in the count to strike out the final batter of the inning and keep the deficit at just one run.

Miller jogged back to the dugout, greeted by high fives and smiles, and Waterford carried that momentum back to the plate.

After a long hibernation, the bats finally woke up.

"When we needed them, they were there," Nott said.

Down to their final two outs, Miller singled into center. Nott followed with a single, moving Miller to third, and Molly Quiles joined the party with a base hit of her own to bring Miller home with the tying run.

With Nott on third base and Quiles on second, a passed ball sent Nott sprinting home with the winning run, where she was quickly mobbed by her ecstatic teammates.

"I'm just extremely proud of them ... the girls pulled it through," Nott said. "I never had a doubt in my mind they wouldn't pull through."

After winning the series opener 11-1 on Wednesday and finishing undefeated in the district tournament, East Lyme had given Waterford the fight nobody else could, an achievement worthy of recognition.

Close until the very end, the way it should be.

"Great team," Nott, speaking of East Lyme said. " ... we're glad to be here on this field with them. And this last game is the way to win. It really is. Both teams played a great game."