LYNN — The East Lynn Padres didn’t leave any doubt about who the best Little League team in Lynn was this year, as the Padres jumped ahead with five runs in the first inning en route to an 11-1 win in five innings over the Pine Hill Braves in the City Series championship game at Volunteer Field Saturday evening.
This is the second straight year that a team from East Lynn has won the City Series, having also won the title in 2019 before the pandemic canceled the 2020 tournament.
Braeden Ohannesian had a big all-around game for East Lynn, going 1-for-4 with two RBI at the plate and also earning the win on the mound. He pitched all five innings, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts.
Other big contributors for East Lynn included Collin Hart, who went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Wagner Perez (0-for-2) also had an RBI, while Mark Walsh went 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Brayden Curley went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
On the Pine Hill side, Brian Boissan had the lone RBI on the day. Elijah Morin went 1-for-2 with a double, while Jackson Barrett and Shea Paul each had a hit in the loss.
Mason Palladino took the loss on the mound after pitching the first four innings, while Bennett pitched an inning of relief.
East Lynn didn’t waste any time getting on the board in this one. After Ohannesian moved 1-2-3 through the top of the first inning, the Padres’ bats got to work. After two quick outs, Walsh kept the inning alive with a single. Hart immediately followed that up with an RBI double, then two walks loaded up the bases. Perez notched an RBI after getting hit by a pitch, then a Pine Hill error brought home two more runs to make it a 4-0 game.
After coming up empty in the second inning, East Lynn struck again in the third after Gavin Collins drew a walk, advanced to second on a passed ball and then scored on a throwing error.
Pine Hill finally got on the board in the top of the fourth, thanks in part to a leadoff double from Morin. After he moved over to third on a groundout, Morin scored on an RBI sacrifice bunt from Boissan to make it a 5-1 game.
But the game really broke open in the bottom of the fourth. Two singles and an error loaded up the bases, then another error brought home a pair of runs. Collins followed that up with an RBI groundout before one more Pine Hill error brought home another run to make it 9-1.
Then, in the bottom of the fifth, Ohannesian rounded out the scoring with a bases-loaded, two-run double to reach the 10-run rule and close out the game.
The Lynn City Series is a 70-year tradition in the city, with the annual tournament always coming at the end of a grueling Little League summer.
