The game was there for the taking. Concord carried a 2-0 lead into the last inning, with freshman Abby Rochette three outs away from a shutout in her first varsity start in the circle.
Then, it all unraveled.
A pair of fluke hits by Exeter set the table, then a sharp single and two-base error led to two unearned runs as the Blue Hawks stole a 3-2 victory in their final at-bat on Wednesday.
“This one hurts,” said Concord Coach Duke Sawyer, whose young team slipped to 1-3.
The teams traded zeroes on the scoreboard through the first three innings. And while Exeter (1-3) put runners aboard, Rochette coolly worked out of the jams, notching five of her nine strikeouts in the opening innings.
Exeter’s Kate Pigsley (five hits, six strikeouts, one walk) retired the first eight batters before Lauren Mullen broke up the no-hit bid in the third. Then in the fourth, Concord struck.
Caitlyn Shea lined a one-out single to center and scored when Izzy Dunn scorched a double down the third-base line.
“They’re hungry. They’ve been coming through with the bats when we need it,” Sawyer said of Shea and Dunn, two of his veteran players.
The Tide tacked on one more in the fifth when Emmily Attocknie reached on an error, Mullen sacrificed pinch runner Jill Dusseault to second, then Dusseault took third on a wild pitch and scored on Rochette’s single to center.
In the top of the seventh, however, Exeter wouldn’t go quietly. Sydney DeVogt, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, reached on a swinging bunt single, then Jalin Marston tapped a slow roller to second with everyone reaching safely.
Of the Blue Hawks’ six singles to that point, only two had left the infield. Keala Eichholz delivered the third. Eichholz hit a hard single up the middle to plate DeVogt, and when the ball skipped past the center fielder, Marston came home with the tying run and Eichholz motored into third.
Rochette struck out the next batter, but a groundout to second sent Eichholz home with the go-ahead run.
“Abby pitched well enough to win,” Sawyer said of Rochette, who scattered seven hits, struck out nine, walked two and allowed just one earned run. “I think she was a little nervous at first, but she bore down. And Nicole (Cacciola) was a big help behind the plate. The two of them work really well together.”
Concord put a runner into scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, but couldn’t get her home.
“Five hits isn’t enough. We’re not hitting the ball very well,” Sawyer said.
“We’ve got a tough one on Friday (at Londonderry), but we’ll see if we can bounce back.”
(Sandy Smith can be reached at 369-3339 or ssmith@cmonitor.com.)
Coe-Brown 8, Kingswood 6
Key players: Coe-Brown – Courtney Lewis (3-for-4, two-run double), Emelia Cronshaw (2-for-4, 2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: With the score 4-4 after six innings, Lewis hit a two-run double in the seventh in a four-run rally to secure the win.
Records: Coe-Brown 2-2; Kingswood 3-1
Kennett 7, Merrimack Valley 3
Key players: MV – Katelyn Hill (double, triple, RBI), Sam Hodkinson (6 IP, 4 K, 3 BB, 8 H, 4 ER), Lindsay Balch (RBI single)
Highlights/key moments: The Pride’s two-game win streak came to end on the road against the Eagles, who picked up their first win of the season.
Records: MV 2-3; Kennett 1-3
Pembroke 11, John Stark 2
Key players: Pembroke – Brianna Whitcomb (first varsity win pitching), Danielle Parent (hitting), Rachel Denoncourt (hitting)
Highlights/key moments: Whitcomb earned her first varsity win from the circle and was supported by strong hitting from her teammates.
Coach’s quote: “We faced a very good team today that hit the ball very well and was not afraid to take the extra base when it was available. As a team we had better at-bats and our defense was more focused.” – John Stark’s Gerry Morin
Records: Pembroke 2-1; John Stark 1-2
Hopkinton 2, Raymond 0
Key players: Hopkinton – Alexis Blanchette (7 IP, 0 R, 6 K, 4 H pitching; double, RBI hitting), Kasey Smith (2-for-3, run), Emmaleigh Sabol (run), Caroline Flood (double)
Highlights/key moments: It was a pitcher’s duel until the sixth as neither team could find some offense. Some nice defensive plays by Gabby Lajeunesse and Flood helped keep Raymond scoreless. In the sixth, Smith led off with a bunt single and stole second before scoring on Blanchette’s double. Pinch runner Sabol, in her first varsity game, moved to third and scored on a passed ball. Blanchette twirled a gem from the circle and the Hawk defense made 15 outs without an error.
Coach’s quote: “A real pitcher’s duel today, our defense was solid, Alexis was awesome, and we clawed and scratched a couple of runs to win it.” – Hopkinton’s Dan Meserve
Records: Hopkinton 5-0; Raymond 1-3
Winnisquam 9, Bishop Brady 7
Key players: Winnisquam – Marissa DeBlasie (3-for-4, 3 runs, 3-run homer), Cailey Clogston (3-for-3, run, RBI), Emily Decormier (3-for-4, 3 runs, RBI), Talia DeBlasie (win, 1 K, 2 BB, 9 H, 7 R, 4 ER); Bishop Brady – Aniecia Vargas (home run, double, 3 RBI, 3 runs), Lily Rivera (3 hits, run; 5 IP, 4 ER, 5 Ks), Abby Santis, (2 hits, RBI), Jackie Hill (clutch 2-out pinch hit single to drive in 2 runs), Jamie Cookingham (hit, run)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears built a 5-0 lead after a four-run second inning and DeBlasie’s three-run blast in the fifth gave the Bears a 9-2 lead.
Coaches’ quotes: “It was nice that the bats got going early and to beat a quality team.” – Winnisquam’s Kevin Dame
“We started off slow in the first five innings but the bats came on strong in the final two innings. The bottom line is we made a couple more fielding mistakes than they did which was the difference in the game.” – Brady’s Freddy Rivera
Records: Winnisquam 3-1, Bishop Brady 2-2
Bishop Brady 10, Plymouth 4
Key players: Brady – Sam Will (3 goals), Isabel Leeming and Abby Tremblay (2 goals each), Sophia Palangas, Shannon Drouin and Dana Beauregard (goal apiece)
Highlights/key moments: Bishop Brady picked up its first victory of the season with a solid outing against Plymouth.
Records: Brady 1-3; Plymouth 0-4
Kearsarge 7, John Stark 4
Key players: Kearsarge – Anna Stowell (3 goals); John Stark – Mackenzie Nase (good defense), Allie McKean (good defense), Liz Neal (strong two-way play at midfield with several ground balls and great draw control), Lizzie Brandt (3 goals, assist), Sam Porter (11 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals scored first, but Kearsarge tied the game 3-3 within the first seven minutes and the Cougars scored again to take a 4-3 halftime lead. Kearsarge tallied three second-half goals to secure the win in a defensive-minded game.
Coach’s quote: “The girls played hard, but we could not generate good offensive chances.” – John Stark’s John Warner
Records: Kearsarge 3-1; John Stark 2-2
Concord 8, Londonderry 1
Key players: Concord – Becky Cistulli (8-2 win at No. 1), Alex Killinger (8-0 at No. 2) Colleen Casey (8-0 at No. 3), Olivia Cattabriga (8-5 at No. 4) Irene Escobar (9-7 at No. 6), Cistulli/Killinger (8-0 at No. 1 doubles), Casey/Sabrina Hart-Meyer (8-1 at No. 2), Cattabriga/Escobar (8-5 at No. 3)
Highlights/key moments: Escobar trailed 6-3 at No. 6 singles, but came from behind to pull out the 9-7 victory.
Coach’s quote: “Another solid win. Great experience for all six players.” – Concord assistant Rebecca Killinger
Records: Concord 3-2; Londonderry 0-7
Wilton-Lyndeborough 7,
Kearsarge 2
Key players: Kearsarge – Miranda Bonin (8-5 win at No. 5), Ellie Mellott (8-4 at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: The Cougars won only two singles matches, but dropped some close ones, including Sarah Long at No. 1 (8-6), Elise Paquette at No. 2 (9-7), Morganne Flinkstrom and Bonin at No. 2 doubles (9-7) and Andrea Cutts and Mellot at No. 3 doubles (9-7).
Coach’s quote: “(We lost some) long, hard-fought close matches today.” – Kearsarge’s Laura Joslin-King
Records: Kearsarge 1-3; Wilton-Lyndeborough 2-2