Lincoln blasts off
BURRILLVILLE — Perhaps the defining moment of this R.I. Little League District IV Major Division (10-11) Tournament championship game at Richard Peck Field on Saturday afternoon came after well after the Lincoln All-Stars’ 16-0 blasting of Cumberland National.
Winning pitcher Donavon Lopez traipsed up to skipper Joe Conti and grinned widely, “Look, Coach, I have a new blanket!” He of course was referring to the District IV title banner wrapped around his shoulders.
If there was a Tourney MVP handed out on this day, it easily would’ve gone to Lopez. The righty hurled 3 1/3 perfect innings before CNLL’s Caden Calabro smoked a double to left-center with one down in the top of the fourth, and he later scored on Mike Bradshaw’s two-bagger.
In the end, he closed with a magnificent two-hitter, yielding two walks and striking out three while tossing – get this – only 47 pitches. He also managed a putout and five assists, meaning he alone played in a part in nine of the 12 outs needed to gain the triumph.
Better yet, he went 2-for-3 with a walk, double, homer, four RBI and three runs scored.
“What can’t you say about him?” Conti stated after his Lincoln club rolled through the DIV event with four straight victories – and outscored its foes, 50-9, in the process. “He’s a complete player with all the tools. He’s a topof-the-rotation pitcher, a middle-of-the-lineup hitter and a leader in the dugout and on and off the field. “What more can you say about him?” It would be foolish not to mention that Lopez had plenty of help, especially at the plate. Clean-up batter Will Denio finished 3for-4 with a dinger, five RBI and two runs, while Ryan Allen went 1-for-1 with two passes and hit-by-pitch, two RBI and two runs; Zach Evans 2-for-2 with two RBI and run; Joey Conti 1-for-3 with an RBI; and Luke Porcaro 1-for-2 with a double, RBI and run.
Leadoff batter ayden Champagne provided more aid, going 0-for-1 with two passes, a
HBP and three runs.
“The reason we hit so well is because we have Dale O’Dell as the hitting coach,” the elder Conti noted. “He works with the kids every day, and they work hard at it. He’s the guy tweaking their swings and getting them where they need to be when the times comes. He and Coach (Matt) Netto, I’m fortunate to have two varsity- or college-caliber guys around to teach the kids the fundamentals of hitting, but they go far beyond that.”
When asked if Lopez knew he had a perfect game going with one out in the top of the fourth, he sighed, “Yeah. Their coaches put in a shift, and the kid (Calabro) put it in the gap, but I’m still happy. I threw the outside low fastball a lot, and it had some velocity, so they could barely touch it.
“I was bummed,” he added, “but I’ll gladly take it.”
The Lincolnites now will ready themselves for the state tourney, slated for Slater Park between July 22-29.
A combination of four CNLL hurlers couldn’t contain the victors’ lineup; in fact, Lincoln notched four runs in the back half of the first off of righty starter John Walsh.
Champagne opened with a walk, Lopez reached on an infield error and Allen walked to juice the bags. Denio followed with a RBI hit to center, Conti an RBI infield single and Mike Bowler a RBI “freebie” before Evans’ hit to left plated Denio. Bryce Garthee reached on a fielder’s choice to reload the bases, but shortstop Connor Allard made a diving grab of Champagne’s scorched liner for the third out.
Lincoln tacked on a whopping eight more in the second while sending 12 to the batters’ boxes.
Lopez initiated the flurry with a double off the fence down the left-field line, Allen poked a soft, opposite-field single to left and Denio walloped a three-run blast over the center-field fence to spell the end of Walsh’s outing on the rubber.
With one down, Bowler beat out an infield miscue and Porcaro doubled him in before racing to second on a wild pitch from reliever Allard. Porcaro eventually sprinted home on a second wild pitch, and Champagne drew a pass before Lopez ripped an opposite-field “tater” over the wall in right.
Lincoln manufactured another four off of relievers Jordan Baptista and Jalen Brown, with the highlights stemming from Christian Khoury’s walk, Evans’ RBI infield single, two HBPs and bags-loaded passes to Lopez and Allen.
Denio’s bad-hop hit plated Chanpagne with the final run.
As stated, Calabro ripped his two-bagger with one down in the fourth, Caden Hogan walked and Bradshaw clubbed another double to left-center to score Calabro. With two outs, he walked Hunter Zancan before whiffing Nick DiMino for the win.
Cumberland National 000 1 –1 – 2 – 2 Lincoln 484 x– 16 – 10 – 0 John Walsh, Connor Allard (2), Jordan Baptista (4), Jalen Brown (4) and Caden Calabro. Donavon Lopez and Mike Bowler. 2B – Calabro, Mike Bradshaw, Lopez, Luke Porcaro. HR – Lopez, Will Denio.