One team came in riding a four-game winning streak, having scored 42 runs in its last two games. The other came in having lost three straight, yielding an average of eight runs per game.
What happened next surely left both coaches scratching their heads.
“It was awful,” said Concord’s Duke Sawyer, the winning coach. “It was awfully sloppy on both sides.”
Concord, the team on the three-game skid, rallied from behind three times and took its only lead of the game when it walked off Memorial Field with an 8-7 extra-inning victory over Pinkerton on Monday.
“It’s a plus, obviously. We need all the wins we can get at this point. We’re going to scratch out every win we can get,” said Sawyer, whose team improved to 4-7. “But give (the players) credit, they kept coming back, kept putting the ball in play and we scored runs when we needed to.”
Pinkerton’s leadoff batter tripled and scored on a groundout for a first-inning lead, then the Astros plated three more runs in the second to go up by four. Then Concord staged its first comeback.
Caitlyn Shea singled and Sam Clapp doubled, putting two runners in scoring position. An error by the shortstop scored one run, and a sacrifice bunt by Zoe Honigberg returned runners to second and third. Abby Rochette followed with a two-run double, then eventually scored the tying run after a passed ball and an infield error.
The teams traded runs in the third, with Concord scoring when Shea doubled home Izzy Dunn, who had singled.
From there, however, Concord’s bats went quiet, with the Astros retiring nine straight hitters while taking a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the seventh after some shaky Tide fielding.
“They were getting so many chances,” Sawyer said. “Every inning we were giving them so many chances to get up there.”
But the Tide kept clawing back. In the seventh, Emmily Attocknie led off with a single but was still at first with two outs when Haley Munroe singled. Then Pinkerton gave Concord a break with the next batter. The third baseman overthrew first, allowing Attocknie to score and sending Munroe to third. And Munroe scored the tying run on a passed ball.
“We made some bonehead plays, and they made some bonehead plays,” Sawyer said.
Concord almost gave the runs back in the eighth when the first two batters reached on errors, but Shea coaxed a comebacker and a flyout for two outs, then after an intentional walk to load the bases, got a flyout to right from a batter who already had three hits in the game.
Concord won it in the home half when Shea (3-for-4) singled, took third on Clapp’s sacrifice bunt and subsequent Astros error, and after a pair of popouts, scored when Pinkerton couldn’t handle Rochette’s hard grounder to short.
“It’s better than four losses in a row,” Sawyer said of the sloppy win. “We know we have a tough one Wednesday (at) undefeated Salem. Hopefully we’ll play some good defense, put some balls in play and see what we can do.”
From coaches’ reports
Softball
Hollis-Brookline 17, John Stark 3
Key player: John Stark – Kali Kolehmainen (solo home run)
Highlights/key moments: Kolehmainen got the Generals off to a good start with a solo home run in the first, but the Cavs’ bats were hot and snapped the Generals’ three-game win streak.
Coach’s quote: “Hats off to the Hollis-Brookline hitters today as they hit everything our pitcher had to offer.” – John Stark’s Gerry Morin
Records: John Stark 4-6; Hollis-Brookline 4-6
Merrimack Valley 4, Portsmouth 2
Key players: MV – Ann Bascom (7 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 ER; 2-for-4, RBI), Katelyn Hill (2-for-4), Miranda Crane (2-run double)
Highlights/key moments: Bascom was the star of the game for the Pride, pitching well from the circle and also contributing at the plate.
Coach’s quote: “Ann did a fantastic job all game locating her pitches. We played good defense behind her and got some timely hitting.” – MV’s Sam York
Records: MV 4-6; Portsmouth 4-5
Belmont 8, Inter-Lakes 2
Key players: Belmont – Taylor Lavallee (2-for-4, 2 runs), Mackenzie Donovan (2-for-4, 2 doubles), Nicole Antonucci (2-for-4, 2 doubles)
Highlights/key moments: Belmont finally got on the board with three runs in the fourth and plated three more in the fifth to snap a three-game losing streak.
Coach’s quote: “It was nice to see us get back in the win column after a tough stretch of games.” – Belmont’s Bill Clary
Records: Belmont 5-4; Inter-Lakes 4-6
Campbell 9, Bishop Brady 7
Key players: Brady – Jamie Cookingham (double, single, RBI, run), Jackie Hill (2 hits, run), Abby Santis (double, run, RBI), Emily Santis (hit, run), Aniecia Vargas (hit, run), Gwen Tupman (hit, run), Maddy Rines (hit, run), Lily Rivera (7 IP, 3 K; single)
Highlights/key moments: Brady took an early 5-2 lead, but Campbell took advantage of some errors to tie the game in the sixth and took the lead on a triple and squeeze play in the seventh to take a 9-6 lead. The Giants scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and had the tying run on second base, but a strikeout to close the game secured the victory for the Cougars.
Coach’s quote: “We competed for seven innings, we can hit the ball and I believe we can compete with any of the strong teams in this division, but we have to clean up our defense (five errors led to five unearned runs).” – Brady’s Freddy Rivera
Records: Brady 5-3; Campbell 7-2
Bow 23, Hillsboro-Deering 11
Key players: H-D – Emma Moore (4-for-4, 2 doubles, 4 RBI), Hayley Hurd (2 SAC, 2 RBI), Melissa Veitch (2 RBI), Nicole Lillis (2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Veitch hit a two-run double in the fifth to give the Hillcats a 9-8 lead before Bow’s bats exploded in the sixth to break the game open.
Coach’s quote: “We played tough in a back-and-forth game until the sixth when Bow broke the game open. Our bats came alive today but errors in the field hurt us late in the game.” – H-D’s Shawn Atkins
Records: Bow 2-5; H-D 1-8
Conant 5, Hopkinton 2
Key players: Hopkinton – Kasey Smith (2-for-4, 2 runs), Alexis Blanchette (2 ER, 4 H, 7 K; RBI, double), Caroline Flood (1-for-3, double, RBI), Grace Gauthier (1-for-3; nice catch)
Highlights/key moments: The Hawks led 2-0 going into the bottom of the fourth thanks to a pair of Smith runs off RBI doubles from Blanchette and Flood, but a pair of errors and passed balls by the Hawks allowed Conant to take a 3-2 lead. Conant tacked on two more unearned runs in the sixth to seal the win, despite Hopkinton outhitting the Orioles, 6-4.
Coach’s quote: “We need to keep the focus up every inning. A slight lapse against a good team will hurt you every time.” – Hopkinton’s Dan Meserve
Records: Hopkinton 5-3; Conant 7-2
Prospect Mountain 5, Winnisquam 1
Key players: Winnisquam – Talia DeBlasie (6 IP, 3 K, 2 BB, 7 H, 5 R (1 ER), Cailey Clogston (3-for-3), Emma Atherton (2-for-2, RBI double), Linday Raymond (1-for-3, run)
Highlights/key moments: Winnisquam scored the first run on Atherton’s double, but couldn’t muster anything else against Prospect pitcher Brooke Burley. Poor defense contributed to the Bears allowing three runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth.
Coach’s quote: “You don’t have to play perfect, but you can’t give good teams extra outs. We did that in the two innings they scored runs.” – Winnisquam’s Kevin Dame
Records: Winnisquam 6-3; Prospect Mountain 8-1
Concord 9, Manchester Memorial 0
Key players: Concord – Colleen Casey, Olivia Cattabriga, Teresa Chen, Joanna Chen, Irene Escobar
Highlights/key moments: The Tide sent their seniors off in style, sweeping the Crusaders on senior day, winning all matches 8-0, except for an 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles.
Coach’s quote: “Very cold and windy conditions, but good practice and a solid win.” – Concord assistant Rebecca Killinger
Records: Concord 7-3; Memorial 0-10
Oyster River 6, Bishop Brady 3
Key players: Bishop Brady – Sydney Herrington (8-1 win at No. 1), Ravalika Damerla (8-6 at No. 2), Herrington/Damerla (8-4 at No. 1 doubles)
Highlights/key moments: Damerla attacked the net well to win against a strong opponent in her singles match and played well with Herrington at the top of the ladder.
Records: Bishop Brady 3-5; Oyster River 6-4
Manchester West 9, Pembroke 0
Key player: Pembroke – Alison Sobenzenski
Highlights/key moments: The Spartans were shut out by the Blue Knights for their fifth -straight loss.
Coach’s quote: “We played without our top two girls and it was a challenge to play at a higher level.” – Pembroke’s David Goulet
Records: Pembroke 1-8; West 3-6
Bow 7, Sanborn 2
Key players: Bow – Laura Zbehlik (8-1 win at No. 1), Casey Day (8-3 at No. 3), Sarah Zecha (8-3 at No. 5), Julia Currier (8-0 at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons held a 4-2 lead after singles and trailed in all three doubles matches, but Bow came from behind in all three to secure the victory. Zecha and Nandita Kasireddy overcame a 4-0 deficit to win in a tiebreaker, 9-8, at No. 3.
Coach’s quote: “It was a much closer match than the score indicates.” – Bow’s Jonsey Rainville
Records: Bow 7-0; Sanborn 4-4
Wilton-Lyndeborough 7, Kearsarge 2
Key players: Kearsarge – Ellie Mellott (8-5 win at No. 5), Felicia McSweeney (8-4 at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: McSweeney won her first varsity singles match.
Records: Kearsarge 1-9; Wilton-Lyndeborough 2-5
Lacrosse
Concord 10, Dover 8
Key players: Concord – Steph Resnick (4 goals), Becca Proulx (3 goals), Julia Ek (2 goals), Tori Pelletier (goal)
Highlights/key moments: The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 9-2 lead, then had to hang on as the Green Wave fought back in the second half.
Coach’s quote: “The first half we played great. We had the best transitions we have had (this) season.” – Concord’s Steph Johnson
Records: Concord 4-4; Dover 0-11
Kearsarge 18, Merrimack Valley 2
Key players: Kearsarge – Eleanor Angus (5 goals, 5 assists), Leslie Angus (3 goals, 2 assists), Anna Stowell (2 goals)
Highlights/key moments: The Cougars defeated the Pride for the second time this season.
Records: Kearsarge 7-2; MV 1-7
Bow 19, Plymouth 2
Key players: Bow – Taylor Darrell (6 goals, assist), Julia Landcastle (4 goals, assist), Maggie Vogt (2 goals, assist), Amanda Murray (2 goals)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons won their third straight game with a decisive victory over the Bobcats.
Records: Bow 5-2; Plymouth 1-7
Hopkinton 10, Coe-Brown 5
Key players: Hopkinton – Amelia Bassett (4 goals, 3 assists), Taylor Signor (2 goals), Chloe Wood (2 goals), Tess Masci (goal), Elle Morrall (goal), Lyndon Flanagan (4 assists), Ireland Tawney (defense), Isabelle Tobin (defense)
Highlights/key moments: The Hawks won their third straight game while the Bears dropped their third straight.
Records: Hopkinton 4-5; Coe-Brown 3-6