East Lynn tops Pine Hill in City Series

LYNN – The Antonio Felix Fan Club is growing.Especially after yesterday’s 14-strikeout performance, which led his East Lynn Cardinals to a 3-1 victory over the Pine Hill Rangers.The Cards are now 1-1 and the Rangers are eliminated after two tough losses in the 60th annual Lynn Little League City Series.Felix, who yesterday was named a nominee for the 2011 Lynn Little League Sportsmanship Award (known as the Sonny Man Hill Award), was not the only East Lynn hero.Trailing 1-0 in the third inning at Pine Hill, Abrar Jalal, Emilio Ferrand and Justin Mayne each walked. Felix also drew a base on balls that tied the score, 1-1. But it was Giovanni Morales, the solid catcher/slugger for the Cards, who got the heroic big hit here for a 2-1 lead.”Giovanni is a clutch hitter, our Most Improved Player,” said coach Jim Mitchell. “That was the biggest hit of the day.”In the bottom of the third, Felix struck out three Pine Hillers.Mason Shultz began a rally in the fourth for the Cards with a double to right, but when another East Lynn drive went deep to left, Ranger Matt Gisonno made a nifty catch to stop the threat.Coach David Stanley’s Rangers tried to rally when Briston Maynard beat out an infield bouncer in the bottom of the fourth and Andrew Blass blooped an infield hit over the mound. But Felix foiled the next batter with a big K to maintain his 2-1 lead.Meanwhile, hurler Ryan Housewart was outstanding for the Rangers.”He was stopping those East Lynn bats with offspeed pitches, curves and fastballs,” said skipper Stanley. “He mixed it up well. He was great.”Still, in the 5th, Ferrand of East Lynn hustled his way to an infield single.Up came Felix ? and the Felix Fan Club, with all its signs, felt that a home run was in the air. Felix then belted a ball right to the left field fence (where the Fan Club gathers) and his drive looked like a homer until Gisonno gloved it for a big out, his second excellent play in left, which put a big smile on the face of his father, Dan Gisonno, the Pine Hill president.Felix said, “I got a good swing on the ball, but the ball didn’t hit the fat part of the bat. It didn’t have that home run sound ? but I did get a good swing on it.”In the fifth, the Rangers’ Housewart was plunked by a pitch, but he was thrown out at second moments later.The Cardinals padded their lead to 3-1 when Connor Gallant singled. Stanley brought in Maynard to pitch and Emil Rossi drew a walk. So did Trippi Woring, and when Amillio Phaw hit a bouncer, in came Gallant with an insurance run.Felix nailed the coffin shut in the 6th against the Rangers by fanning two in a 1-2-3 inning.Mitchell singled out Morales for his great game, saying, “He and Felix are great hitters, and Giovanni did a great job catching, throwing out a runner today.”Mitchell is celebrating his 20th year as a Lynn Little League manager.”I love it, and I’m honored to be part of the City Series,” he said. “A City Series victory for me as a coach was a long time coming (the last one was 1999, records say) but I always loved the City Series. It’s historic.”Mitchell’s staff includes John Mayne, Mike Shultz and Connor Gallant. Mitchell grew up with Kenny Hill and Tony Hill and those great diamond stars from West Lynn, though he never played Little League.”I love the history of baseball and I enjoy it because it never changes,” he said. “Baseball has been the same from Babe Ruth to, well, to Antonio Felix.”