Rhode Island State Tournament

Toward the past

2000

Toward the present

Rhode Island State Tournament
Host - Burrillville (District 4)
At Sherman Park

Participating Teams District 1 Champions District 2 Champions District 3 Champions District 4 Champions

Johnston American Pawtucket Darlington American South Kingstown Lincoln

Tournament Results:

Opening Round:
Johnston American 5, South Kingstown 2
Lincoln 4, Pawtucket Darlington American 1

Loser's Bracket Semifinals:
Pawtucket Darlington American 8, South Kingstown 3 (elim.)

Winner's Bracket Finals:
Lincoln 10, Johnston American 0 (5 innings; 10-run rule)

Loser's Bracket Finals:
Johnston American 1, Pawtucket Darlington American 0 (elim.)

Championship Game:
Lincoln 12, Johnston American 5 (TITLE)

Summary:

For the Lincoln Little League all-star team, success breeds success.

Five years after the league collected its first ever district championship, Lincoln became the first Rhode Island league ever to capture five consecutive district crowns following their 5-4 win over Smithfield in the District 4 championship game. And after a breakthrough 1999 campaign that saw Lincoln win its first ever state championship, the District 4 powerhouse was at it again in 2000.

Relying on a pair of holdovers from their 1999 state championship team, and getting key contributions from a trio of eleven-year-olds, Lincoln breezed past its three opponents at Burrillville's Sherman Park to re-capture the state title. Lincoln dispatched of Darlington American 4-1 in the opening round, and then rolled past Johnston American 10-0 and 12-5 to become the fourth straight league to win consecutive Rhode Island state titles. Lincoln's second win over Johnston American was crucial. It prevented an 'if' game meeting between the two clubs, and meant that Lincoln would sweep through the tournament without having to face Johnston fireballer Jim Gilheeney, who averaged 14 strikeouts per game in the postseason.

Lincoln's state tournament run in 2000 picked up where the 1999 tourney ended -- with a win over perennial contender Darlington American. Lincoln's 4-1 victory was aided by Darlington's inability to capitalize on numerous opportunities, as Darlington stranded baserunners in every inning and left the bases loaded in both the fifth and sixth innings.

Lincoln, on the other hand, was able to convert on early opportunities in the win. Kyle Milbrandt scored on a delayed double steal in the first, and Marc Larve beat out an infield hit in the third before advancing and eventually scoring following a walk, a wild pitch, and a passed ball. Darlington cut into the lead with a third inning run, but Ian Rarus delivered a leadoff homer in the fifth, and Kyle Borden added a pinch RBI single later in the inning to provide the final margin of victory.

Darlington threatened in both of the game's final two innings, but couldn't exploit their opportunities. The Americans loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth before Lincoln pitcher Scott Cardin escaped the jam, and then re-loaded them with one out in the sixth before reliever Tom Coulombe registered a strikeout and groundout to end the game.

Lincoln's win earned it a matchup with Johnston American, which beat South Kingstown in the other opening round game. Jim Gilheeney (14 strikeouts) was overpowering, and limited South Kingstown to a pair of hits. Both came during a two-run third inning rally, but Johnston rallied from the two-run deficit to claim the 5-2 win.

Jim Gilheeney started the comeback with a sacrifice fly that scored Evan Thompson in the bottom of the third. One inning later, Mike Parrillo and Gary Gilheeney singled (Johnston's first hits off of South Kingston fireballer Ben Irzyk), and both players scored on a pair of errors that followed Gary Gilheeney's hit. In the fifth, Johnston capped the scoring with another two-run rally. Jim Gilheeney walked, moved to second on Joe Comella's sacrifice bunt, and then scored when Rob Fontaine's liner ricocheted off of Irzyk's hip and into left field. Fontaine later scored on a passed ball to provide the final 5-2 margin.

Youth took center stage on the tournament's second day. First, Darlington American, which featured eight eleven-year-olds on its roster, eliminated South Kingstown 8-3. In the ensuing winner's bracket game, home runs from three eleven-year-olds fueled Lincoln's 10-0 rout of Johnston American.

Lincoln struck early for the second straight day. Zabetta and Derek Rossi opened the game with singles, and Milbrandt (one of two returning players from the 1999 Lincoln team) drew a walk. One out later, Zabetta scored when Coloumbe also drew a walk, and Rossi came home on a passed ball to give Lincoln an early 2-0 lead.

Lincoln then went to the long ball to pad its lead. Borden slammed a three-run homer with two outs in the third to increase the lead to 5-0, and back-to-back pinch hit home runs by eleven-year-olds Chris Randall and Chris Pickering made it 7-0 in the fourth. Pickering later added an RBI single and scored the game's tenth run during a three-run rally in the fifth.

While Lincoln was scoring early and often, pitcher Steve Soucy was busy shutting down the Johnston offense. Mixing his fastball with an effective change-up, Soucy struck out eight, and held Johnston hitless until the bottom of the fifth before finishing with with a one-hitter.

Lincoln moved into the title game with the win, while Johnston dropped into a loser's bracket meeting with Darlington American that would determine the other state finalist. Johnston sent Jim Gilheeney to the mound, while Darlington countered with Mike Watkins. The two could not have been more evenly matched.

Gilheeney held Darlington to two hits, and struck out thirteen in six innings of work. Watkins fanned nine, and also held Johnston to two hits. Neither pitcher walked a batter. 44 of Jim Gilheeney's 66 pitches were strikes; Watkins countered with strikes on 45 of his 65 pitches.

In the end, Jim Gilheeney was the difference. His sixteenth homer of the year -- a two-out blast over the center field fence in the third inning -- provided the game's only scoring as Johnston American edged Darlington American 1-0. Jim Gilheeney ended the contest by retiring the last six batters he faced, including a game-ending called third strike one pitch after the batter sliced a line drive inches foul down the right field line.

Jim Gilheeney's stellar pitching performance gave him 85 strikeouts in six post-season starts, but it also made him ineligible to pitch again unless Lincoln dropped their rematch with Johnston American. Lincoln's hitters made sure that didn't happen. The defending champions scored in four of their five at-bats, and used a five-run third inning outburst to seal a 12-5 victory.

Kyle Borden keyed Lincoln's first rally. The eleven-year-old, who evolved from reserve to starter to clean-up hitter over the course of the district and state tournaments, slapped a two-run single in the bottom of the first inning that plated Zabatta and Coulombe and erased an early 1-0 Johnston lead. Two innings later, Lincoln pulled away. Borden, Milbrandt, and Cardin all walked to open the inning, and pinch hitter Sean McGowan's double drove home the two Kyles and stretched the lead to 4-1. Cardin scored on Randall's single to left, while McGowan and pinch-runner Soucy later scored on a fielder's choice and a groundout. Milbrandt (three hits and four RBIs for the game) helped stretch the lead in the fourth with a two-run homer, and though another Jim Gilheeney homer sparked a four run Johnston rally in the fifth, Lincoln remained in control until the end.

Lincoln's run to the title earned the league its second straight trip to the Eastern Region tournament in Bristol, Connecticut. Lincoln finished with a 2-3 record in pool competition before falling 5-1 to eventual East champion Goffstown, New Hampshire in the quarterfinal round.