Lincoln downs Burrillville
Cumberland awaits in tonight’s final at Lajoie
WOONSOCKET — The first three innings of Tuesday night’s Jimmy Fund Tournament losers’ bracket final belonged to Lincoln Little League pitcher Evan Cucca and his counterpart from Burrillville Little League, Dylan Kafalas.
The second half of the contest belonged to Lincoln’s hitters.
After being held scoreless for three innings. Lincoln exploded for eight runs over the final three innings thanks to a pair of runs scored from Caden Oldham and catcher Owen Richardson in an 8-1 victory at Lajoie Field to advance to tonight’s final against undefeated Cumberland.
“This group is all 9-yearolds getting ready for [the District 4 tournament] next year,” Lincoln coach Jason Oldham said. “We played Burrillville earlier in this tournament and won, but they came back and played very well. This was a close game, but we came through with some timely hits and had some great pitching.”
Austin Henault, who scored the game-winning run in a three-run fifth inning, earned the win in relief of Cucca. After the starter allowed three hits and a run in 3.1 innings, Henault allowed just one hit to go along with three strikeouts in two innings. Jason Caro sandwiched strikeouts around a walk to end the contest.
For Burrillville, Kafalas allowed six hits and two runs in four-plus innings, while 8-year-old righthanded reliever Brayden Castellone pitched the final two innings.
Lincoln, which lost in last summer’s final to Woonsocket, needs to beat Cumberland tonight to force the if-necessary game tomorrow night at Lajoie Field at 7. When the two teams met in last week’s winners’ bracket final, Cumberland produced a 2-0 victory.
“It was a good pitching matchup the last time we faced them,” Oldham said. “Both teams played great defense, so we think we’re going to be in for a nail-biter. We have to beat them twice, so I’m sure we’re going to see multiple guys from them.”
Burrillville, which posted wins over Smithfield and Woonsocket after its loss to Lincoln in the winners’ bracket quarterfinals, answered Lincoln’s run in the top of the fourth inning when Castellone singled, moved into scoring position on a single and scored
on a wild pitch.
The home side on the scoreboard failed to score again because of superb pitching and solid defense, led by shortstop Luca Coppolino and catchers Colton Henderson and Owen Richardson.
“This tournament and this summer is all about player development and making sure every kid learns multiple positions because when they get on the big diamond you’re not sure where they’re going to play,” Oldham said. “You don’t want them to get stuck thinking they can only play one position. You want them well versed in a number of positions.”
Henault sparked a three-run fifth inning with a walk and a run on a wild pitch. Lincoln added four more runs in the sixth inning thanks to offensive contributions from Coppolino, Michael Parisi, Oldham and Will Aiken (two hits).