Sweet repeat!
Allen, Lopez lead Lincoln to second straight state title with shutout of EG
The Lincoln 9-11 year old Little League all-stars successfully defended their state title with a 4-0 win over East Greenwich on Wednesday.
PAWTUCKET – The Lincoln All-Stars exhibited various degrees of enthusiasm after manufacturing a solid, workmanlike 4-0 victory over East Greenwich, one that claimed the R.I. Little League 11-year-old state final, on Wednesday evening.
Kids like shortstop Jayden Champagne, pitcher Donavon Lopez and outfielders Ethan Gray and Mike Bowler danced around the diamond at Darlington American’s Richard Cosimini Memorial Field.
Then there was third baseman Ryan Allen, who silently took his place among a few other teammates lining the firstbase stripe while awaiting the presentation of the state championship banner, not to mention individual trophies and pins.
When asked what was going through his mind at earning such a lofty laurel, he merely stated, “Umm, I don’t know. It feels good; we’re the state champs, but it was a total team effort. We all contributed in some way.
“I’d say I’m pretty happy,” he added, almost embarrassed.
Second baseman Joey Conti stood in that same line holding a large white sign with red lettering reading, “Go Lincoln!” on one side and “Big Red” on the other, was asked the same question. He only shrugged, then gave a fist bump to a teammate.
Turns out, Allen played the role of hero on this night, going 3-for-4 with a three-run dinger and two runs scored, while starting hurler Lopez finished 3-for-3 with a run; Champagne 1-for-4 with a run; Luke Porcaro 1-for-2; and Bryce Garthee 1-for-1.
On the hill, Lopez yielded just two hits (without a walk) and whiffed a trio on 49 deliveries over four full innings, while Denio tossed a no-hitter with a pass and three strikeouts the last two.
After handing out his squad’s trophies, skipper Joe Conti took the microphone and stated to the crowd, “We have a special place in our hearts for this place; this is where it all started with the Andreozzi Tournament when the guys were eight years old,” he noted. “My hats off to our coaching staff, including our hitting coach, Dale O’Dell, and Matt Netto. We couldn’t have done it without them, or Seth Garthee.”
When he finished, Conti continued that thought.
“The Andreozzi Tournament is a state-wide event for eight-year-olds; back then, some of the kids’ parents weren’t sure if they wanted their boys to participate,” he said. “After we won that, all the parents were on board, on the same page. They probably knew they were in for something special.”
Most of the boys in this group went on to capture four All-Star events at age nine, and last summer took not only the state but the New England 9-10 crown.
“The kids all work very hard; that’s the key,” Conti stated. “I was almost roped in to calling this team great the other night, but I won’t do that until – if and when – they get to Williamsport (Pa., site of the Little League Major Division (11-12) World Series.
“Right now, they’re a very good team,” he continued. “One thing I can say about this group is they’re still having fun doing it, whether we’re working on base-running drills. Heck, I’ll even play ‘Simon Says’ with them if they’re looking too tense.”
Lincoln has more on the table, as it now will begin preparing for the New England tourney, slated to begin in Beverly, Mass. on Tuesday. The title tilt is sched- uled for Friday evening.
EG righty Levi Burden accepted the defeat as his squad closed its season at 6-2 overall. Through five frames, he scattered 10 hits and yielded three runs (two earned) and a walk while fanning two. Fellow righthander Ryan Fay replaced him in the sixth and allowed one hit and an earned run with a strikeout. He also heaved up two wild offerings.
“I thought the story of the game was the pitching – on both sides,” Coach Conti said. “Donavon does what he does best, but I thought their kid pitched very well, too. They’re a really good team, and he kept it close for them.”
Perhaps the only thing Lincoln lost on this occasion was the pre-game coin flip determining the home team. As the “visitor,” it started most auspiciously, with Champagne reaching on shortstop Fay’s fielding error, and Lopez beat out an infield hit.
Allen then strode to the lefty’s batter’s box and calmly ripped Burden’s first pitch off the right-field scoreboard.
Before either contingent had time to breathe, Conti’s crew held a 3-0 cushion.
“I was just thinking, ‘Try to get a hit and drive someone in,’” Allen said shyly. “I saw a fastball about waist-high, and I swung through it. Right off the bat, I knew it was out. It hit the scoreboard on a line.
“You know,” he added, “I remember playing here in the Andreozzi Tournament when I was eight, and the field seemed so big; it was intimidating … Right now, it just looks like a regular Little League field.” Who would know better? Lincoln threatened again in the second after Lopez scorched a one-out, ground hit to center, but Allen popped out to the mound. Denio singled Lopez to third, but backstop Will Cavanaugh through him out trying to rob second.
Lopez whiffed Cavanaugh and forced Fay to ground out to second before Burden drove a ground hit to center and Cade Thomas did the same to left, yet the whirler escaped when Dylan Lynch bounced one back to the hill.
In the top of the fourth, Champagne, Lopez and Allen all delivered one-out hits to fill the bags, and Denio tagged a liner to center, though Nick Martin snared it, and Christian Khoury hit into a fielder’s choice out to end the would-be flurry.
As for the back half, leadoff batter Brayden Rogers sparked EG after reaching on the younger Conti’s miscue at second (he already had posted a putout and three assists at that point), but Cavanaugh, Fay and Devin Lynch all bounded into fielder’s choice outs as Lopez skirted any issue.
In the bottom of the fifth, Mike Mita roped a grounder off of Denio and under Conti’s glove with one down, and pinch-hitter Ben Picone did the same; Conti thought he had tagged out Mita en route to second, but the umpiring unit met for a moment and switched the call.
With the safe ruling, Martin reached on another fielder’s choice and stole second, and Christian Butera walked to juice the bases.
Denio nevertheless escaped when Rogers fouled out to first.
In its final at-bat, Allen blooped a hit just beyond second base, hustled to second on Fay’s wild delivery, moved to third on Denio’s groundout and scored on another pitch gone awry. That turned out to be an unnecessary insurance run.