Cardinals top Marlins

All-Stars head to Gillette for Districts July 18-23

Andrew Towne
Posted 7/5/22

TORRINGTON – The Cardinals and Marlins had to wait an extra 24 hours to settle the winner of the Torrington Little League City Tournament championship.

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Cardinals top Marlins

All-Stars head to Gillette for Districts July 18-23

Posted

TORRINGTON – The Cardinals and Marlins had to wait an extra 24 hours to settle the winner of the Torrington Little League City Tournament championship.
Due to thunderstorms rolling through the area on Thursday evening, the championship game was pushed back to Friday, and in the end, the Cardinals fended off a late rally by the Marlins to pick up an 8-5 victory.
Lincoln Speckner scored the game’s first run for the Cardinals in the top of the first inning on a throwing error.
In the bottom of the first, the Marlins battled back with two runs of their own.
A wild pitch scored Ebin Hunter, and Chase Moeller’s RBI single drove Hunter to make the score 2-1 Marlins.
After a scoreless second inning, another storm rolled through the Torrington Sports Complex putting the game on hold for nearly an hour.
When play resumed at 7:20 p.m., the Cardinals scored the next six runs.
A Marlins error led to Speckner scoring on another error, but the Cardinals scored four in the top of the fourth. Gaige McFarlin drove in Speckner to put the Cardinals in front 3-2. Bryce Booth doubled, driving in two more runs, and Booth scored later in the inning on a wild pitch, pushing the lead to 6-2.

The Cardinals made the lead 8-2 with two more in the fifth. Colby Groene reached on an error, resulting in the final two runs of the game to cross home for the Cardinals.
However, the Marlins weren’t going to go down without a battle.
With no one out, the Marlins were able to load the bases, and Kane Correa singled, ending the scoring drought for his team. Unfortunately for the Marlins, they had to wait another inning to continue to chip away at the deficit.
In the sixth, the Marlins held the Cardinals off the scoreboard despite allowing the first two hitters to reach base. The Marlin relief pitcher Owen Curry struck out two and forced a lineout to get out of the inning.
In the home half of the sixth, Curry tripled to left center, driving in two runs to cut the Cardinal lead to 8-4. Hunter singled, scoring Curry with two outs, but two batters later, a pop fly to short stop proved to be the final out of the game.
Moeller led the Marlins with two hits, while Correa, Hunter, Hudson Hoffman and Curry added one hit each. Correa drove in two runs. Hoffman and Curry combined for 11 strike outs on the mound for the Marlins.
The Cardinals were led by Speckner who went 3-for-3 at the plate with four runs scored. McFarlin, Groene and Booth went 2-for-4 each at the plate. Speckner was also credited for the win, pitching 4 1/3 innings, striking out two.
To win the Torrington Little League City Championship, the Cardinals also defeated the Yankees 11-1 in the opening around and the undefeated Cubs 8-7. The Cardinals ended the season with an 11-7 record.

All-Star teams announced
Along with the championship game being held on Friday, the two Torrington All-Star teams were also announced the same day.
The 9-10-year-old All-Star team will be coached by manager Grant Curry and assisted by Rob Mortimore and Kevin Evans. The team will be comprised of Caden Ryall, Patrick Mortimore, Hudson Hoffman, Chase Moller, Owen Curry, Case Gonzalez, Tripper Kosmicki, Cassius Gonzalez, Preston Stratton, Ayden Smith, Barrett Perales, Hudson Evans and Gunner Werning.
The 11-12-year-old All-Stars will be managed by Wade Bruch and assisted by Russell Stienmetz and Matt Mattis. The team will be comprised of Bryce Booth, Colby Groene, Lincoln Speckner, Brrett Bruch, Morgan Cross, Kane Correa, Ebin Hunter, Garrett Hager, James Stienmetz, Asher Mattis, Waylon Merrigan, Easton Desmond and Brody Shields.

Districts up next
The Torrington All-Star teams now look ahead to the 2022 Wyoming District 2 Tournament held in Gillette July 18-23 with hopes of reaching the state tournament the following week, also scheduled to be held in Gillette.
The 11-12-year-old All-Stars open the seven-team bracket at 4 p.m. against Platte County. Meanwhile, the 9-10-year-old All-Stars open the tournament against Platte County at 10 a.m.