Lincoln team members congratulate Chris LeClaire, right, after his two-run home run in the second inning Wednesday night.

Journal photo / Kris Craig

CRANSTON — Hang on, folks. We don't know who's heading to Bristol, Conn., just yet.

There's still one more game left.

Hard-throwing right-hander Jeff Sheehan made sure of that, tossing a one-hitter and striking out 10 through 5 1/3 innings, in helping the Lincoln All-Stars avenge an earlier loss to the Johnston National All-Stars with a 10-1 victory in Wednesday night's championship series of the Rhode Island Little League State Tournament at the John Chaffee Sports Complex.

Because it is Johnston's first loss in the double-elimination tourney, the teams will meet again tonight at 6 to decide who will be crowned this year's state champion — and earn a trip to next week's New England Regional Little League Championships.

"We just wanted to beat them," said Sheehan, who helped his own cause by driving in two runs and scoring once himself. "They beat us [on Sunday], so we were motivated by, like, revenge."

"This has been our whole season," Lincoln manager Dale O'Dell said of his District 4 champions. "This was our fourth game where we had to win or our season would have been over. We had two in the districts and now two in this (tournament), and this team likes that. They like their backs against the wall. They don't get nervous. Sheehan pitched a magnificent game."

He also had the benefit of a solid defensive effort behind him, as well as great run support, with Jake Petrin, Sam Brito, Brandon Yee and Justin Conti each contributing a pair of hits to Lincoln's 10-hit attack.

Much the way it did in the first meeting between the teams, Lincoln jumped out to a 4-0 lead. After Johnston National misplayed a pop-up behind second, Chris LeClaire cleared the 220-foot fence in center field. Yee then lined a double to right center and scored on a double to the same spot by Conti. Conti advanced to third on an infield single by Petrin, then scored on Sheehan's sacrifice fly to center to make it 4-0. But unlike in the first meeting, Lincoln did a much better job of protecting the lead this time. Battling through an eight-pitch at-bat, James Picchi belted a solo homer to center to get one run back for Johnston National in the bottom of the fourth.

That would prove to be the District 1 champions' only hit of the night, however, and Lincoln quickly answered with another four runs in the fifth, a rally that was sparked by Petrin's leadoff home run to right. Conti and Brito each recorded their second doubles, in helping Lincoln add two more runs in the sixth. Sheehan registered his 10th strike out in the bottom half of the frame before reaching his 85-pitch limit, and LeClaire came in and retired the next two batters to seal the win.

"I think I did pretty good," said Sheehan. "I knew I had to throw strikes in order to win, and I did. That's why we came out on top. I was getting my location good. I was nailing the outside corner of the plate on everyone, and my curve ball was good at times."

O'Dell pointed out that while happy to have kept its title hopes alive, his team kept its celebration to a minimum, well aware that the deciding game still awaits.

"As you can see, my team wasn't jumping around or anything after we won this game because we haven't won anything yet," he said. "We try to keep an even keel, and hopefully they come to play (tonight), which I think they will."

Meanwhile, Johnston Nationals manager Doug Jeffrey refused to let the setback shake the confidence he has in his club, which is making its first appearance in the state tournament in 40 years and its first-ever state-title appearance.

"Sheehan pitched a heck of a game. He's a very good ballplayer," Jeffrey said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy, that it wasn't going to be a cakewalk. These are the two best teams in the state. I'm very confident we're going to come out on top."

Lincoln 040 042 — 10 10 1

Johnston National 000 100 — 1 1 4

Jeff Sheehan, Chris LeClaire (6) and Jake Petrin; James Picchi, Jake Coro (5) and Armani Henderson.

cthorn@projo.com