The Cranston Western Little League 10-year-old All-Stars picked up two wins last weekend to punch its ticket to the state championship on Wednesday.

CWLL won its opening game 7-1 over Warwick Continental and then turned around and beat Cumberland 7-5 to reach the finals.

Aydenn Reyes was stellar on the mound against WCA, pitching 2 2/3⅔innings and allowing one run on no hits while striking out five batters. JJ Hamilton pitched the final 3⅓1/3 innings and allowed no runs and picked up a pair of strikeouts.

CWLL faced a tough test in WCA ace pitcher Colby Fales, but would rise to the occasion and also produce offensively. Nolan Winters went 2-for-3 with three RBI while Kameron Monahan went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Brad Dempsey and Nazlin Benzan also knocked in runs.

“That Continental game. We knew that they were going to have a really good pitcher on the mound to start. Our goal was to make him throw as many pitches as possible, hang in there and let the chips fall as they may. They did a better job than I even could have imagined. The kids scored some runs, defensively they made all the plays, Aydenn Reyes was tremendous. Then we went to Hamilton and he was able to keep them at bay,” said CWLL coach Sean Hart.

CWLL jumped out to a 6-0 lead over Cumberland in the second game and would hold on to grab the win despite a big push from Cumberland down the stretch.

Reyes led the way at the plate going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI while Winters, Monahan, Benzan and Joey Travisono also recorded RBI.

CWLL is still unbeaten this summer, and Hart has been pleased to see its fight in these close matchups.

“(The WCA) game was a big test for us, that game proved that these kids had what I thought they had inside of them. They are that scrappy bunch that will fight through those tough times and get the win. That mentality really resonates with them and helps us win games. That test ended up being really important for Sunday’s game,” said Hart.

CWLL will be taking on the winner of Bristol versus Cumberland on Wednesday night for the state finals. If CWLL wins, then it will be headed to regionals. Should CWLL lose, there will be a winner take all matchup on Thursday evening.

“You’ve still got to play to win that game. You can see the finish line, but you need to go out and execute to win that final game. It’s hard to treat it like any other game, but you have to,” Hart said.