Wyoma Cardinals capture City Series

LYNN – The Wyoma Cardinals rode a strong pitching performance by Carly Mendonca to a 6-1 win over the Lynn Phillies and a Little League softball City Series Championship.Mendonca struck out 11 and had a no-hitter going until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Ava Brown spoiled the bid with a single. That was the only hit Mendonca would allow.?Carly was awesome again tonight,” Cardinals manager Chad Wilkins said. “She just gets tougher every time they get a runner on base.”Wyoma nickel-and-dimed the Phillies, scoring one run in the first inning, two in the second, two in the third and one in the sixth. Lynn avoided the shutout with a run in the fourth inning.The Cardinals? first run came when Amanda Wilkins walked and scored on a throwing error. Wyoma made it 3-0 after two when Riley Mannion walked and scored on a bad throw and Emily O?Connor walked and scored on an error.The Cardinals put two more on the board in the third inning when Emily Barney launched one down the right field line that went for a triple. Mendonca, who had walked, scored on the play with Barney scoring on an error for a 5-0 Cardinals lead.Lynn had its share of baserunners throughout the game thanks to 10 walks, but the big hit proved elusive. The Phillies left the bases loaded in the first inning, and stranded two in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth.?We got the girls on base,” Phillies manager Maureen Mannion-Collins said. “We couldn?t get the big hit.”The Phillies? only run came in the fourth inning when Pam Dimis walked and scored on a wild pitch. That cut the deficit to 5-1, but that?s as close as Lynn would get. The Cardinals scored their final run in the sixth inning when Sophia Labert walked and scored on an error.Lauren Wilkinson pitched for the Phillies. She only allowed three hits and struck out nine, but walks and errors proved to be a deadly combination.?Their pitcher pitched a very good game,” Wilkins said. “It was a very well-played City Series. All the games were fairly low-scoring.”Kudos to the grounds crew at Wyoma. The torrential rains that had half of Eastern Massachusetts building an ark on Wednesday proved no match for these guys. The rain had barely stopped falling Wednesday night when the crew sprang into action. Although the game started a little late, it went off without a hitch. The two teams played a best-of-three series and had the Phillies won the first game, the plan was to play the if-necessary game last night (made possible now that the Lynn Woods field has lights) as part of a doubleheader.