Johnston American’s run in the 11- and 12-year-old District 1 tournament came to an end Monday with a loss to Cranston American, but that run wasn’t without its high points.

Johnston American lost its first game of the tournament but won two straight to advance through the elimination bracket to the third round. That stretch included an impressive 4-0 victory on Saturday over Edgewood/South Elmwood.

“I thought we did excellent,” manager Ron Bianchi said after the Edgewood game. “We’re a really solid team defensively and our bats have been coming around. But I’ve just got a great bunch of kids. They play as a team. Everybody on the field knows the capabilities of everybody else and they support each other.”

Johnston American got a strong performance on the mound from Raphael Diaz, who relieved Zach Podmaska and didn’t allow a run in five innings of work. Johnston took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Diaz singled and came around on a pair of wild pitches. In the fifth, Johnston broke the game open thanks to an RBI triple by Nick Loffredo and an RBI groundout by Ryan Anderson.

And though Johnston bowed out a few days later, they’ll remember the bonds they formed.

“They call it a team for a reason,” Bianchi said. “Everybody has to play together. These kids do that. They step up when they have to. If someone makes an error they’re picking him up. Nobody dwells on it.  They’re just good kids. You want to have fun. These kids play the game and have fun at the same time.”