WILSON, N.C. — Babe Ruth Northwest Regional 14s champs North Kitsap have experienced a little bit of everything while at the World Series tournament this week.

And that includes the bittersweet feeling of having both one win and one loss under its belt.

While NK doubled up Nash in the opening game 6-3 Sunday, the squad had its first loss — since winning its region back in July — at the hands of the Oahu, Hawaii regional champions by a 12-0 score.

NK has two games remaining in pool play that includes teams from Connecticut, North Carolina, Louisiana and Hawaii. The team must finish in the top two to advance to the three day, end of the week tournament that will determine the Babe Ruth champion.

But the euphoria of the World Series tournament has the team enjoying every minute, win or lose, said 14s manager Mike Jones.

“It’s a real electric atmosphere,” Jones said. “There’s a little bit of everything.”

The team is staying with host families and has been treated to pizza feeds, a pig roast, a fanatical atmosphere and traditional Southern hospitality, he added.

All games have been played at Fleming Stadium, a park built in the 1930s. Jones said that teams are using small ball strategies and that Fleming is not a sit-back-and-bash-the-ball type of field.

“It’s really not turning into being a hitter’s park,” Jones said. “There’s been a couple home runs but not a lot.”

North Kitsap faced local squad Nash in the first game at the series Aug. 22 and after a slow start, proceeded to hand the East North Carolina State Champs a 6-3 loss.

Down 1-0 going into the fifth inning, Kyle McCown hit a single to right field and Chris Jones reached base on a throwing error by Nash pitcher Scott Tharrington. A double steal by McCown and Jones put both runners in scoring position for Robert Jordan, who also reached first on a Tharrington throwing error that McCown scored on. Jordan Tucker flew out to center to score Jones and give North a 2-1 lead.

Nash fired back in the bottom of the fifth scoring two runs on two hits to take a 3-2 lead. But NK would have another rally off a James Smith double and a Jamaal Smith single. McCown laid down a bunt that scored James Smith and Levis O’hara-McLaren singled to score McCown. A Jordan single scored Jones before the inning ended.

Coach Jones said he was again impressed with his team’s ability to adapt to the situation.

“I think it’s something they do really well,” Jones said of the squad’s capacity to make changes in strategy. “Baseball is all about making adjustments. We laid down a couple of bunts and got things rolling.”

North added one more run to the total in the seventh with James Smith reaching second on a throwing error. Jamaal Smith hit a single to score James Smith and put NK up for good.

“They had a big crowd and it was a back-and-forth game,” Jones said of the contest.

The second game Monday saw North play at 11 a.m. versus Oahu. North Kitsap never could get rolling versus pitcher Reece Kiriu, held to only three hits in the game, while the island squad put up 12 runs on 15 hits.

“Hawaii is a good team — I would go so far as to say they’re the best team here,” Jones commented. “And we came out a bit flat and couldn’t recover.”

Adjusting to the East Coast has been hard only in terms of the time change, coach Jones said.

“It’s a little bit harder to fall asleep (at night),” he commented.

But otherwise, he’s been impressed with the environment and said the team has enjoyed an historic trip.

“The hospitality’s been great,” Jones said. “We’ve had red carpet treatment here. (The NK players) are really enjoying the experience.”

As far as play on the diamond is concerned, North Kitsap had a late game Tuesday versus Jefferson Parrish, the Louisiana regional champion. The team plays its final pool play game today versus Stamford, the Connecticut regional champs. The two teams with the best records in its division move onto a single elimination tournament to be played Thursday through Saturday. And though they’ve endured a loss, coach Jones still likes North’s chances.

“They’ll come back ready to play. They’ll put (the Oahu game) behind them real fast,” Jones said. “It’s the coaches that tend to have the problem — (the kids) just want to play baseball.”