HAMILTON, Ohio — Parker Moyer helped send the Hamilton West Side Little League All-Star team on its way to yet another Ohio Little League District 9 championship.
The rest of his teammates followed suit.
Moyer hit his second home run in two games, and West Side scored 13 runs in the first inning before closing out a 16-0 victory over Anderson Township to claim its 39th straight district title on Wednesday night at West Side Little League.
“I hope this is a habit,” Moyer said of his power-hitting performance during the district tournament. “I hope it continues, especially in state and regionals.”
Moyer’s two-run homer capped off West Side’s first-inning surge that included six hits. Moyer and Braydon Caudill each connected on home runs against Anderson Township in Monday’s 24-1 win.
West Side is looking to capture its 21st state title and make a sixth trip to the Little League World Series (1991, 1993, 2007, 2010, 2021).
“With our coaching, they push us to the max, and we just try to keep up with them,” Moyer said. “They’ve got us 100 percent ready.
“We know that we have to work our butt off. You have to impress our coaches. If you’re good enough, you should have good expectations. If you don’t hustle, you’re going to pay for it.”
West Side had seven reach on base hits and every player from its roster of 12 crossed the plate at least once.
Moyer (2 for 3, two runs, three RBIs), Caudill (1 for 1, two runs), Eric Albrinck (1 for 1, two runs), Cash Jones (1 for 2, run), Preston Baker (1 for 1, run, two RBIs), Anthony Saurber (2 for 2, two runs, two RBIs) and Alijah Holmes (2 for 2, run, RBI) paced West Side on offense.
Eddie Frazier, Braeden Sparks and Albrinck combined to pitch a one-hitter, striking out seven.
“They know coming through the program, by the time you’re 7 years old playing coach pitch and seeing the stuff on the outfield wall, that the goal is to make the 12-year-old all-star team,” West Side manager Ken Coomer said. “They know of all the accomplishments that we’ve had here. It’s just as important to them as it is for us coaches. That’s good to have and good to know going into it.”
West Side Little League hosts this year’s state tournament, which takes place July 20-27. The state tourney bracket will be released in the coming days once districts are completed.
“Now, we start a new week,” Coomer said. “Each level is a new week. We have to prepare a little differently now because they’re going to face faster pitching, focus on more bunting and do a lot more things fundamentally — just more of the game all-around than anything.
“We’ve just got to be prepared. We just can’t always be happy with where we’re at. We practiced the last couple of days to prepare for this. We’ve got a week and a half to prepare for what we’re going to face next.”
This story originally appeared on journal-news.com.
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