LYNN – The Wyoma Rangers made sure their Little League kept the city championship trophy at Reinfuss Field last night with a 13-2 win over the Pine Hill Red Sox in the finale of the City Series.”Everybody hit,” said Rangers manager Jeff Earp, whose team made it three straight titles for its league with last night’s win. “Our team has hit all year. We’ve worked hard, and that work has paid off.”We had to work hard during the season, because nobody ran away with our league,” Earp said.The Rangers got good pitching from starter Cullen Dunnigan, who made it into the fifth inning before exceeding the pitch count of 90. But by then, it was all over but the shouting. For what started out to be a pretty tight game (4-1 after four innings) turned into a rout when Wyoma’s big bats got cranking.”It was a tough, tense game up to that point,” said Earp. “Their kid (Anthony Ross) pitched really well. It wasn’t an easy game.”But in the fifth, Wyoma scored four runs to put the game away. Three of them came via the long ball, as Nick Amenta hit the first of his two blasts, a three-run job over the fence in left-center. The other one came when Justin Murkison singled home Andrew Moccia, who had been hit by a pitch.Wyoma poured five more runs across in the top of the sixth, two of them on Dunnigan’s home run, another on a solo shot by Amenta (this one clearing the fence in left with ease) and the final two on Damien Earp’s two-run double to left.The Rangers got three runs right off the bat in the first ? one on a wild pitch, and on singles by Amenta and Moccia.Pine Hill got one back in the bottom of the first when Jordan Javier reached on a two-base error, went to third on an infield out, and scored on a wild pitch.Wyoma upped its lead to 4-1 in the second on a walk to Murkison, who came around to score after a sacrifice, an infield out, and Brendan Powicki’s single.”I thought we competed very well,” said Pine Hill manager Ron Gaudet, whose team had to fight its way back into the finals after losing right away to West Lynn American (which it then turned around and defeated in the loser’s bracket final over the weekend). “We didn’t quit. It’s been real good for the league this year. In the eight years I’ve been here, we’ve never made it to the finals of the City Series.”Our guy (Ross) pitched a real good game until he had to come out in the fourth,” Gaudet said.”We have a young team,” he said. “We only lose three kids, and they’re a good bunch of kids. It’s been a real pleasure coaching them. I told them I think we can play with anybody.”This City Series was the last for Alice O’Neil as district administrator. She is stepping down as of Sept. 30. In a pre-game ceremony, both teams recognized her many years of service to Little League.
