LYNN — East Lynn’s goal has been to win back-to-back City Series titles, and that dream remained alive Tuesday evening when the Padres took down the West Lynn Red Sox by a score of 8-0 in a City Series game at Volunteer Field.
The win catapults East Lynn into the City Series final this weekend.
Mark Walsh had a big day for East Lynn, going 1-for-2 with a home run and three RBI at the plate and also earning a win on the mound after allowing just one hit with 10 strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings of work. Collin Hart pitched the final 1 1/3 innings and also went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Gavin Collins went 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI, Brayden Ohannesian went 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI and Andrew Lang went 0-for-3 with an RBI.
West Lynn only scattered one hit in the game, a single from Jianny Bernabel.
Rowan Merryman got the start and took the loss on the mound for West Lynn, pitching three innings and allowing four runs on three hits with six strikeouts. Aidan Peterson went the rest of the way, allowing four runs on three hits with four strikeouts.
East Lynn came out firing in this one, as Brayden Curley led off the bottom of the first with an infield single and reached second on a passed ball. Next up was Ohannesian, who smashed an RBI double to put the Padres ahead 1-0.
The score remained there until the bottom of the third. After a walk and an error put two runners on with no outs, Walsh stepped up to the plate and launched a three-run home run over the centerfield fence to extend East Lynn’s lead to 4-0.
The Padres rounded out their scoring in the bottom of the fifth, pushing four more runs across to break open the game. It started with a leadoff double from Ohannesian, then Walsh walked to put two runners on. Hart came up next, lining a two-run double to make it 6-0. Collins immediately followed that up with an RBI triple of his own before Andrew Lang notched an RBI fielder’s choice to make it an 8-0 game.
Hart closed things out from there, moving 1-2-3 with two strikeouts through the top of the sixth inning to seal the win.
West Lynn will now drop down to the loser’s bracket, where it will take on Pine Hill Friday evening (5:45) for a chance to play in the City Series final this weekend.
East Lynn is off until the final, where it will be the home team come Saturday (5:45). East Lynn will need to win once to clinch the title, while its opponent will need to earn two wins for the title.
