Brown smacked a solo home run to open the third inning, Cole Helmes followed with a two-run bomb and West Side blanked Lebanon 22-0 in the first round of the Ohio Little League District 9 tournament.
“Our defense has been stepping it up — big time,” said Brown, who went 2 for 4 with three RBI and two runs to go along with his homer that gave West Side a 15-0 lead.
West Side is searching for its 38th straight district title, 21st state title and sixth trip to the Little League World Series (1991, 1993, 2007, 2010, 2021).
“I tell you what, this year it’s different,” West Side manager Tim Nichting said. “We’ve mixed in a little bit of Ross with a little bit of Hamilton. They’ve got the feel. They’ve got the bug with what this is all about.”
Cole Vowell and Ethan Woods saw the mound for West Side, striking out all nine Lebanon batters on the way to a no-hitter.
Helmes went 3 for 3 with three RBI and three runs, while Konnor Commins (2 for 2, two RBI, run), Woods (three RBI, two runs), Timmy Saurber (hit, two runs, two RBI), Max Hall (hit, two runs, two RBI), Tycen Maus (two runs), Nolan Warner (hit, walk, two runs, two RBI) and Finn Chenoweth (hit, RBI, two runs) also contributed at the plate.
“It’s just a good mixture of kids,” Nichting said. “We’ve got a lot of pitching. We’re just going to keep working on hitting. We think we’re pretty deep on hitting, and that kind of showed today. I think we’re going to pitch the ball a little bit, and we’re going to play some D. We’ve just got to hit.”
Chenoweth (left field), Grayson Huff (right field) and Maus (right field) saw action in the outfield with Brown at center on Wednesday. Maus and Hall each had time at third base, while Saurber played some at short stop and second base. Woods was at first when he wasn’t pitching, Commins played an inning at second base and Warner also played short stop. Helmes split time at first base, and Brennan Beaudoin was behind the plate.
West Side, which plays Lakota at 8 p.m. on Thursday, is assisted by coaches Chris Hilton and Kenny Coomer.
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