Coventry holds Lincoln in check
District IV champs now face must-win game tomorrow night against Cranston
PAWTUCKET – Given the Lincoln AllStars’ state and New England Regional track record over the last 17 years, since its first trip to the Little League World Series in 2001, witnessing a flair for the dramatic didn’t seem that far-fetched on Sunday night.
They entered the back half of the sixth inning of the R.I. State Major Division (11-12) Tournament winners’ bracket final at Slater Park’s Cosimini Field trailing District III champion Coventry, 3-0 – and home run threat Ryan Allen would be opening the frame.
Allen did his part, ripping a ground single up the middle, but reliever Logan Lama forced a fielder’s choice and fanned a pair to nail down the triumph.
With the verdict, Coventry now has the luxury of sitting back and watching Lincoln battle Cranston Western, a 5-4, seven-inning victor over Barrington, in an elimination tilt slated for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday at this same site.
To be fair, righty flamethrower Tom Turner manufactured a terrific outing; in four full frames, he yielded just one hit and two walks (with a hit batsman) and fanned nine. Lama went the final two and scattered just the Allen hit and a pass with three strikeouts.
Skipper Dale O’Dell spent perhaps 10 postgame minutes with his crew on the right-field grass, then explained his message to his boys, who – in actuality – didn’t see that downtrodden. The subject matter must have helped.
“I told them this happened to us two years ago when they were 10,” he offered. “We were playing (a winners’ bracket final against) the same team, and we got beaten up pretty badly, but we came back and won the whole thing.
“We didn’t play that well,” he added, “and you have to give that Coventry pitcher (Turner) credit. He pitched a great game. We had some chances to put up some runs, but we didn’t get the big hit when we needed it. We also didn’t make a couple of plays in the field.”
Truth be told, righthander Donovan Lopez had a highly-respectable outing. In 5 1/3 innings, he allowed seven hits, three runs (all earned) and a walk with a half-dozen whiffs.
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Offensively, Turner helped himself, going 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI and run scored, while Will Owens went 1-for-2 with a double and run; Dylan Mourao 1-for-2 with a run; and Kody Fretts 1-for-3 with a two-bagger and RBI.
The only other Lincoln hit went to Carter Tillson.
Lopez racked up two quick outs in the top of the first, but Turner rapped a hit to center, Jake Mather did the same and Fretts ripped a RBI double to deep left.
With he and Mather in scoring position, though, Lopez fanned Lama for the final out.
Coventry was at it again in the second, after Owens led off with a ground, opposite-field double down the right-field stripe. Lopez struck out Anthony Colucci, but Mourao reached on an infield error, and both moved up on a wild pitch.
Tyler Simon’s groundout to short plated Owens with the second run.
It appeared Lincoln would slice into its deficit when Tillson opened the bottom half with a smoked single to left, the robbed second. With one down, Will Denio’s bounder to second pushed Tillson to third, but Turner whiffed Noah Campanelli to end the inning.
The District IV champs threatened once more in the fourth when Turner struck pinch-hitter Christian Khoury with a one-out offering, and Bryce Garthee reached on a fielder’s choice/errant infield throw. With runners at the corners, though, Turner struck out two to escape.
Coventry gained an insurance run in the sixth after Lopez allowed Mourao a one-out infield hit. Fellow righty Mike Bowler replaced Lopez, who had reached his pitch limit with 86, and immediately threw a wild one. He also allowed a pass to Simon and hit to left to Sam Fuentes to juice the bags, then walked Turner to plate Mourao.
O’Dell opted for southpaw Zach Evans, who got Mather to line out to left and Fretts to poke into a fielder’s-choice out.
Lincoln’s hope for a last-inning rally went for naught.
“Donavon pitched really well,” O’Dell stated. “He made one mistake in the first when he left a breaker up in the zone and the kid (Fretts) whacked it.
“The bottom line is we didn’t make the plays we ordinarily make; we didn’t play as good defensively as we normally do, and we didn’t hit enough,” he added. “I think we’ll turn it around.”