East Side 12U All-Stars Hold Off Furious West Point Comeback in 5-4 Thriller

An explosive four-run opening inning laid the foundation, but it took every bit of grit in the final frame for East Side Little League 12U All-Stars to survive a late rally by 12’s West Point Little League All-Stars in a 5-4 victory on Thursday.

East Side established command early in the bottom of the first inning. Following a walk to Darren Molineux and a double by Cole Warner to place runners in scoring position, Dillon DiGiulio stepped to the plate and ripped a two-run double to left field to break the ice. Moments later, Paul Cowperthwait extended the momentum with an RBI single to bring home DiGiulio. A defensive mishap on a stolen base attempt by Jack Cassidy allowed Cowperthwait to scamper home, capping a relentless four-run burst.

West Point began chiseling away at the deficit in the fourth inning. After Carter Finley doubled on a line drive to left, Hilton Bricker executed a situational groundout to bring Finley across the plate, cutting the score to 4-1.

East Side added a critical insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Cassidy singled, moved to third on a single by James Martin, and alertly scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-1.

That insurance run proved essential. In the top of the fifth, West Point closed the gap when Kaden Kriger smashed an RBI double off the left-field wall to score Bennett Mento. West Point made its final charge in the top of the sixth. Down to their final outs, Lucas Henry singled to right, setting up Finley, who launched a two-run home run over the left-field wall to shrink the margin to 5-4.

Reliever Ryan Donnelly quickly regained his composure, striking out the next batter to record the final out and preserve the tight victory.

Cole Warner earned the start on the mound for East Side, allowing zero runs on two hits over 1.2 innings of work. Bennett Mento threw a complete five innings for West Point, striking out five batters while surrendering four earned runs on eight hits.

Player Stats

East Side Little League 12U All-Stars Top Performers

• Jack Cassidy (1B): 2-for-2, 1 R, 1 SB

• Dillon DiGiulio (1B): 1-for-2, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 SB

• Paul Cowperthwait (LF): 1-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 R

• Cole Warner (P/CF): 1-for-1, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB | Pitching: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 1 BB

• Darren Molineux (RF/P/2B): 1-for-1, 1 R, 1 BB | Pitching: 2.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 SO, 0 BB

• Ryan Donnelly (SS/P): Pitching: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 SO, 0 BB

12’s West Point Little League All-Stars Top Performers

• Carter Finley (C): 2-for-3, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R

• Kaden Kriger: 2-for-2, 1 2B, 1 RBI

• Bennett Mento (P): 2-for-2, 1 R | Pitching: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 SO, 3 BB

• Lucas Henry (SS): 1-for-3, 1 R

• Sebastian Worman (LF): 1-for-1, 1 BB