Ross wins Home Run Derby

LYNN – It might not be the stage of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Weekend and in venues like Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park, but most Little Leaguers dream of competing in a Home Run Derby.On Friday at Reinfuss Field, four players got that chance as they competed in the finals of the 12th annual Lynn Little League Home Run Derby, won by Pine Hill’s Anthony Ross.”These kids all see the Home Run Derby on TV and I really believe that their dream is to compete in that,” Derby director Bob Keaney said. “And this gives them the opportunity to do that. It is a very nice way for these kids to end the season and it really is fun.”Matt Curtis was the inaugural champion 12 years ago and players such as Nick Day and Ben Bowden also have taken home the championship trophy. Last season, Katie Burt became the first girl to win the competition when she lapped the field in the finals.”These players really do take this seriously,” Keaney said. “It’s a very big thing to them. They bring their own pitchers and have a strategy when they go up there.”On Friday, it was a pair of Pine Hill’s best in Ross and Andre Gaudet, along with Wyoma’s Brett Molea and West Lynn American’s Mike Melanson, who were in the finals.Melanson was up first in the finals and struggled to find the groove that got him into the finals as he finished with just one homer in the finals. Gaudet was up next and he showed the form that led him to 10 homers in the opening round and helped him and Ross lead Pine Hill to a City Series championship last weekend.Gaudet got off to a slow start, belting only one homer in his first five swings before the lefty found his groove. He would hit six homers on his next eight swings, many of them sailing completely out of the ballpark and into the adjoining apartment complex.He would eventually push his total to 12 before making outs on his final two swings.That brought Ross to the plate as he was trying to bump his Red Sox teammate off the top spot.Ross started well, belting eight homers before using up half of his 15 allotted outs in the finals. He then went on a dry spell and was stuck on the eight mark with only four outs to go before catching fire.On five straight swings, Ross ripped homers over the left field fence to suddenly push into first place with 13 long balls before making outs on his final three swings from the right side.That left only Molea to try and dislodge Ross from the top of the bunch and the Wyoma all-star started off well, picking up homers on two of his first three swings.He would have seven homers with nine outs remaining. But Molea would notch just one long ball in the next six swings before ringing a lined shot off the right field foul pole.His next swing actually left the park, slamming off the top of a Corvette parked in the right field parking lot, but was just foul. Molea would eventually get to 10 homers before running out of outs.