BOARDMAN — The nerves lasted only a couple of innings.
After spotting Ironton an early lead in the opening game of the Ohio Little League state tournament, West Side Little League settled in, trusted its lineup and looked every bit like one of the state’s perennial powers.
West Side erupted for 13 unanswered runs over the final three innings, pounding out 11 hits in a 13-1, five-inning victory on Saturday, July 18, at the Boardman Field of Dreams.
West Side, which has 22 state championships and five Little League World Series appearances, will face Olentangy at noon Sunday in Boardman.
The breakthrough on Saturday came after an unfamiliar start.
Ironton manufactured the game’s first run in the second inning.
“It was the first tournament game for our boys this summer,” West Side manager Tim Nichting said. “First time these kids really played in a meaningful game in a while, so I think we were a little tight in the beginning.”
Xander Kinkade made certain the deficit remained manageable.
The right-hander struck out seven over 3 2/3 innings, allowing just two hits and an unearned run before Robert Frazier retired the final four batters to complete the combined two-hitter. West Side finished with nine strikeouts on the mound and played error-free defense.
“Kinkade did well,” Nichting said. “He pitched well for us and kept us in there until things got going.”
Once the bats awakened, the game changed in a hurry.
West Side finally broke through in the third, collecting five hits during a five-run inning to seize control. Leo Feltner’s RBI double highlighted the rally before the West Side lineup continued applying pressure.
Nichting never sensed panic in his dugout despite the early deficit.
“We kept battling and just kept swinging the bats,” Nichting said.
That confidence came from the depth throughout the order.
“When you look at our roster, that’s a lot of bats to go through,” Nichting said. “You just can’t panic. That’s what we keep preaching to our kids. Every at-bat’s important because if you’re batting at the bottom, get on. Get on for the top. Just keep moving it forward.”
The knockout blow arrived in the fifth.
Jack McAdams lifted a sacrifice fly before Kinkade launched a towering solo home run to center field. Moments later, Josiah Infante followed with another blast, giving West Side back-to-back home runs that brought smiles throughout the Hamilton dugout.
“It’s kind of impressive to watch 12-year-old kids hit balls like that,” Nichting said. “They were no-doubters from the moment they hit them. They’re big, strong kids, so hats off to them.”
Kinkade’s afternoon extended off the mound.
“It was great,” said Kinkade, who batted fifth in the lineup. “Didn’t mean to hit one over (the fence) on two strikes, but yeah.”
The victory also helped erase any opening-game jitters.
“It feels real good,” Kinkade added. “Real good.”
West Side added six runs in the fifth, with Infante’s homer, Caiden Trent drawing a bases-loaded walk and two Ironton errors capping the decisive inning.
Infante, Frazier, Feltner and Kinkade each collected two hits for West Side. McAdams and Infante drove in two runs apiece, while Zach Hilton and Trent each drew two of the team’s nine walks.
