Their year?
Lopez, Godin lead squad to second straight District 4 blowout victory
After dominating its first two District 4 games, the Woonsocket Major Division all-star team takes its shot at Lincoln Friday.
WOONSOCKET — All the Woonsocket Little League Major Division all-star team has done in its first two District 4 contests is dominate.
Two days after swatting away Cumberland National in a winners’ bracket quarterfinal, Woonsocket traveled to Peck Field in Burrillville to take on a Burrillville squad that blanked Smithfield in the first round.
Thanks to a home run and five RBIs from Isaiah Figueroa and a home run and three RBIs from Trenton Brin, Woonsocket advanced to its first District 4 winners’ bracket final since 2015 with a 12-3 victory over Burrillville Monday night.
“We’ve been together for a while now,” Woonsocket coach Michael Cinquantini said Tuesday afternoon. “Eight of the 12 kids have been together since the Jimmy Fund tournament years ago. I’m not personally surprised at all by this. I knew the talent they had from the beginning. The kids were very focused. They have worked their tails off in the heat. They have constantly been grinding.”
Woonsocket’s reward for scoring 22 runs in its first two games? A trip to Randy Hien Field Friday night at 8 to face a Lincoln squad that is the reigning 11-year-old state champion. Lincoln, which defeated reigning Major Division state champion Cumberland American Monday night, will likely send Donavon Lopez to the mound.
“We’re ready for it. These kids are really pumped up for the match up, and the last time we played them was in the Jimmy Fund,” Cinquantini said. “They’re really looking forward to the matchup. They believe in themselves and know what they’re capable of doing. I know Lincoln is a great ballclub with some solid hitters.”
“I think we match up fairly well. It’s going to come down to two-strike, two-out hitting. I think we’ve been under the radar since the start of the tournament.”
It could be an all-Lopez pitching affair, as Saturday’s pitching standout, K.J. Lopez, is eligible to start the contest. The two Lopezes are cousins.
Cinquantini said Lopez and Shayne Godin have made the biggest jumps since the team had a solid, albeit underwhelming, performance in last summer’s 11-year-old district tournament. Godin earned the victory after allowing three runs in 3.2 innings of work, while Jayden Violette threw 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Woonsocket scored seven runs in the first innings thanks to hits from Figueroa, Brin and Godin (3-for-4 with three RBIs) to take a lead they would never relinquish. Burrillville scored three runs in the second, but Woonsocket answered with three in the third. Figueroa hit a two-run home run late in the game.
Friday’s game will be Woonsocket’s third straight contest on the road. No matter how deep the squad goes into the bracket, every game will be away from Lajoie Field because of a large patch of burnt grass in left field that made the field unplayable.
Cinquantini said the team has practiced at Ayotte Field and Hartnett Field to prepare for the tournament. He said, however, he hasn’t used the lack of a home field as a rallying cry.
“I think about stuff like that, but I didn’t even mention it to them,” Cinquantini said. “At the same time they’re not letting it affect them. Me personally, I think it’s put a little chip on our shoulder.”