With both John Stark (2-1) and Pembroke (0-2) starting their top pitchers, Wednesday’s baseball matchup was a pitcher’s duel that didn’t disappoint.
Both pitchers went the distance and kept their opponents off-balance. But in the end, John Stark ace Egan Nickerson pitched a one-hitter and got a little more run support than his counterpart AJ Gagnon, as the Generals defeated the Spartans, 4-1.
Neither team generated much offense early, with Nickerson (seven innings, nine strikeouts, one walk) and Gagnon (six innings, six hits, five strikeouts, walk) preventing their opponents from getting too many opportunities on the basepaths.
Derek Goldrick broke the scoreless tie in the fourth, getting on base with a ground-rule double and scoring on an Aaron Robertson sacrifice fly to give the Generals a 1-0 lead.
Callahan Loos (2-for-3, steal) hit an RBI triple in the fifth to double the lead for John Stark and Noah Greene’s clutch two-out single drove in two more to give the Generals a 4-0 lead.
The Spartans were shut out until the seventh inning thanks to Nickerson’s pitching and the tremendous defense of senior shortstop Wesley Lamphere.
“It was a pitcher’s duel. He spun another gem for us today,” John Stark Coach Dennis Pelletier said of the senior ace, who has allowed no runs and just two hits in 14 innings this season. “We couldn’t have asked for anything more out of him today.”
Pembroke Coach Joshua Coughlin was also quick to credit the anchor to his pitching staff.
“Although (Gagnon) took the loss . . . his outing was fantastic,” Coughlin said.
Nickerson’s nine strikeouts kept the Spartans from making much contact, but when they did, Lamphere cleaned up anything that came his way.
“I’m not surprised. He’s a good player,” Pelletier said of Lamphere. “He’s the kind of player you tell to play any position and he’ll play his heart out.”
Quinton Paquin scored Pembroke’s lone run in the seventh off a Noah Manteau groundout, after the Generals committed two errors.
A couple players displayed some signs of early-season jitters and “the bats underperformed, but showed good life late today,” which, according to Pelletier, “that’s the direction we’re going.”
Exeter 9, Concord3
Key players: Concord – Stephan Moran (3-for-4, run), Sean Fallon (2-for-4), Ethan Dupre (RBI), Griffin Gilbert (RBI), Jake Kelly (RBI), Jared Grondin (pitched 2 innings of relief)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide led 2-1 after three innings, but stranded a runner on third in the fourth inning, then Exeter scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead.
Coach’s quote: “Concord hung with a very good Exeter team. We swung the bats very well against some good pitchers. We made some mistakes on the mound and in the field that we need to clean up.” – Concord’s Scott Owen
Records: Concord 2-1; Exeter 5-0
Coe-Brown 11, Kingswood 2
Key players: Coe-Brown – Max Judge (4-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Joel Boulanger (4-for-5, 2 runs, RBI), Noah Dubois (2-for-5, run), Bryce Twombly (2-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI), Noah Wojtkowski (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Andrew Therrien (2-for-3, 2 RBI), Brody Ashley (5 IP, 9 K, 3 hits)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears had a productive day at the plate, connecting for 20 hits.
Coach’s quote: “It was a solid effort overall.” – Coe-Brown’s Sean Ashley
Records: Coe-Brown 3-1; Kingswood 3-1
Kennett 9, Merrimack Valley 6
Key players: MV – Cole Laliberte (3 RBI, double, triple), Mark Barton (2-for-2, 2 walks), Matt Ostrowski (2-for-3)
Highlights/key moments: Playing their sixth game in 10 days and their third straight game this week, the Pride struggled on the mound. Down 7-0 after three innings, MV battled back to bring the tying run to the plate in the seventh.
Records: MV 2-4; Kennett 1-3
Winnisquam 3, Bishop Brady 1
Key players: Winnisquam – Hunter Tierney (7 IP, R, 8 K, 2 BB, 4 H), Jake Snow (2-run single); Bishop Brady – Spencer Fleming (RBI), Tom Blandini (run; pitched well), Adam Gamache (pitched well)
Highlights/key moments: Blandini scored off a Fleming hit in the first inning to give Brady a 1-0 lead, but the Bears tied the game and Snow broke the 1-1 tie with a two-run single in the fourth. Tierney pitched a gem to keep the Giants off the board for the rest of the game, including a strikeout with the bases loaded to end the game.
Coaches’ quotes: “Hunter threw the ball really well. After giving up an unearned run in the first, he retired nine in a row and gutted out the seventh inning for the win. He made some big pitches at key moments.” – Winnisquam’s Fred Caruso
“It was a well-pitched game. (Tierney) pitched well for them. He mixed it up.”– Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: Winnisquam 1-3; Brady 2-2
Raymond 12, Hopkinton 2
Key players: Hopkinton – Alex Lajeunesse (pitched shutout inning of relief, 3 K; double)
Highlights/key moments: The Hawks committed 10 errors in their fourth straight loss.
Coach’s quote: “You can’t win many games when you don’t make the plays. We’re fine until we make that first mistake. We’re going to keep working, we need to get better.” – Hopkinton’s Dave Chase
Records: Hopkinton 1-4; Raymond 2-2
Pittsfield 8, Nute 7
Key players: Pittsfield – Kyle Stockman (2-for-4, 3 steals, run), Devin Bedell (hit, RBI, 2 runs), Brian Sullivan (hit, 2 BB, winning RBI)
Highlights/key moments: The Panthers trailed three times, but claimed the win in the seventh inning off a squeeze play. The Panthers trailed by four in the sixth and came back to tie it, but Nute retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Bedell, an 8th-grader, pitched a perfect seventh to seal the win.
Coach’s quote: “I’m happy we won the game tonight. Although we didn’t play very smart and had way too many mental mistakes, I’m proud of the boys for battling ’til the end. I was very pleased with the young boys tonight. To finish the game with a 7th-grader two 8th-graders and two freshmen on the field was very gratifying.” – Pittsfield’s Rob Stockman
Records: Pittsfield 4-2; Nute 1-3
Concord 17, Memorial 0
Key players: Concord – Dan Labell (4 goals, assist), Chris Picard (4 goals, assist)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide evened its record with a decisive win over the Crusaders.
Records: Concord 2-2; Memorial 0-3
Kearsarge 9, John Stark 4
Key players: Kearsarge – Colton Wilhelmina (3 goals, assist), Emerson Tyler (2 goals, 2 assists), Zander Hauck (2 goals), Jakob Arnold (10 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Cougars held a narrow 5-4 lead after three quarters, but a four-goal fourth quarter secured the win.
Coach’s quote: “Very proud of the way we finished as a team. Our goaltending and defense were great all day.” – Kearsarge’s Zach Matthews
Records: Kearsarge 3-1, John Stark 0-3
Plymouth 15, Bishop Brady 11
Key players: Bishop Brady – Bryce Johnson (5 goals, 2 assists), Chris Thurber (2 goals, 4 assists), Rich Sullivan (2 goals, assist), Kyle Cioffi (goal, 2 assists), Connor Dougherty (goal)
Highlights/key moments: A slow start pinned the Green Giants with a 10-4 halftime deficit, but and Brady couldn’t rally despite controlling the game to the tune of a 7-5 score in the second half.
Coach’s quote: “Bryce had another great game. He’s been the catalyst for our offense. . . . We were just beaten by another slow start. We have to ready to play another full game Friday at Gilford.” – Brady’s Justin Loring
Records: Brady 1-3, Plymouth 3-1
Concord 9, Londonderry 0
Key players: Concord – Justin Toler (8-1 win at No. 1), Aidan Connor (8-1 at No. 2), Adam Bryant (8-1 at No. 3), Sebastian Hart-Meyer (8-1 at No. 4), Matt Chorlian (8-1 at No. 5), Kevin Neary (8-2 at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: All six Tide players won both their singles and doubles matches, with Toler and Connor, and Bryant and Neary, both winning 8-2 at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, while Hart-Meyer and Chorlian won 8-2 at No. 2.
Coach’s quote: “We bounced back well from our first loss earlier this week. The sportsmanship on both sides was excellent.” – Concord’s Dave Page
Records: Concord 4-1; Londonderry 1-7
Kearsarge 9, Pelham 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Tyler Valovic, Tucker Valovic, Jack Van Etten, Charlie O’Connor, Matt Hubley and Sam Williamson (swept Nos. 1-6 singles)
Highlights/key moments: The Cougars swept the singles matches, allowing Kearsarge to try some new combinations in doubles. Van Etten and O’Connor, the usual No. 2 tandem, won 8-2 at No. 1, while the new combination of Williamson and Hubley won 8-1 at No. 2. Sam Bourcier and Logan Seaholm, playing in his first match of the season, won 8-1 at third doubles. Tucker Valovic made quick work of his opponent in singles, winning 8-0.
Coach’s quote: “We’re looking forward to playing at Wilton-Lyndeborough on Friday. That will be our fourth match in five days.” – Kearsarge’s Lynn Miller
Records: Kearsarge 4-0; Pelham 1-5
Windham 3, John Stark 2
Highlights/key moments: Windham and Stark traded wins for the first four sets. Unfortunately for Stark, Windham was able to pull away for a tight 15-12 win to take the final set and match.
Coach’s quote: “We showed a little bit of everything tonight. For three out of the five sets we were fighting for every loose ball, transitioning our defense into offense and making generally good decisions with the ball. Unfortunately, we were flat at times and that cost us games one and three. We’re not yet where we want to be, but we get closer each game.”– Stark’s Dave Simeone
Records: Windham 2-2; John Stark 1-3