It wasn’t the cleanest pitching performance from Sam Hodkinson. The Merrimack Valley junior had some control issues and wound up walking four in Tuesday’s game against Kearsarge.
But when the dust settled, Hodkinson had spun a one-hitter and the Pride had a 6-1 win.
“To be honest with you, I didn’t know (Hodkinson) had the pitching line that she did until I did the book after the game,” MV Coach Sam York said. “It kind of snuck up on me that she only gave up the one hit.”
Hodkinson struck out 11, the only run she allowed was unearend and the only hit she gave up didn’t come until the sixth inning.
“I think she was just wild enough, and she throws hard, she really does,” York said. “So they helped her some by chasing pitches, but then she would bear back down to get the out.”
It’s the second meeting of the season between Kearsarge (3-7) and the Pride (5-6), even though the Cougars are a Division III team and MV is D-II. The Pride won the first game, 9-7, on April 19.
“We don’t even mention that they’re in D-III,” York said. “We’ve played them for so many years that whether they’re D-III or D-II, and they’re coming back to D-II next year, we don’t talk about it.”
Merrimack Valley opened the scoring with four runs in the fourth inning. Alani Ramas (3-for-3, RBI) and Ann Bascom both had RBI singles in the frame and the Pride also took advantage of four walks and two wild pitches.
The second was certainly the low point for Kearsarge pitcher Ashley Thompson, who happened to have the only hit of the game for the Cougars. She finished the game with five strikeouts and five walks while giving up six hits and three earned runs.
“Thompson did a pretty good job of hitting her spots and we really didn’t hit the ball hard off her the entire game,” York said.
MV added a single run in the third when Cassie Carey singled, moved to third on a single from Ramas and scored on a fielder’s choice from McCullough Tirrell. The Cougars answered with a run of their own in the top of the fourth when Maddie Folcik scored on a passed ball. But MV pushed it back to a five-run lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth.
The Pride complemented Hodkinson’s pitching performance with rock solid defense.
“When they put the ball in play, we made every play and that’s been the difference in the last week,” York said. “(Monday) against Portsmouth (a 4-2 win) and today when they hit the ball at us or near us, we made the play, and that’s what has been killing us this year.”
MV has now won three of its last four games, but York wants even more out of his team.
“We’ve got to beat some of the teams that are above us in the standings,” the coach said, “not just the teams below us.”
From coaches’ reports
Belmont 15, Newfound 3, 6 inn.
Key players: Belmont – Taylor Lavallee (4-for-5, 5 runs, double), Shannon Davies (3-for-3, double), Jordan Lavallee (2-for-3, double), Margaret Witham (first varsity double), Megan Prescott (pitching win, 7 K, 0 BB, 5 hits)
Highlights/key moments: The Red Raiders scored four runs in the sixth inning to put the 12-run rule into effect and end the game early.
Coach’s quote: “Another good game from the offense.” – Belmont’s Bill Clary
Records: Belmont 6-4; Newfound 3-7
Trinity 11, John Stark 5
Highlights/key moments: After wining three straight games, this marked their second straight loss. No further details were reported.
Records: John Stark 4-7; Trinity 4-5
Nute 9, Pittsfield 5
Key players: Pittsfield – Alyssa Sullivan (2 hits, run), Arianna Cyr (2 hits, run)
Highlights/key moments: The Panthers played one of their closest games in the past couple of weeks, but fell to the Rams.
Records: Pittsfield 0-11; Nute 4-5
Kearsarge 3, Merrimack Valley 1
Key players: Kearsarge – Jake Vierzen (7 IP, 8 K, 2 BB, 5 hits), Sam Lick (RBI-single); Merrimack Valley – Brian Nylen (7 IP, 12 K, 5 hits), Mark Barton (2-for-3, RBI)
Highlights/key moments: The Pride took a 1-0 lead after one on an RBI from Barton, but Kearsarge scratched across three runs in the third – the first two on a two-out, bases-load passed ball and the third on Lick’s RBI single.
Coach’s quote: “It wasn’t our best game, but the kids found a way to win. Jake pitched out of a lot of jams and competed hard. I’m really happy with his effort.” –Kearsarge’s Travis Pelletier
Records: Kearsarge 6-4; MV 2-10
Belmont 26, Newfound 0, 5 inn.
Key players: Belmont – Corey Derosier (3-for-4, grand slam, 7 RBI, 6 runs), Caleb Drouin (4-for-5, 2 home runs, double, 5 RBI, 5 runs; 5 IP, 3 hits, 11 K, 1 BB), Doug Price (3-for-5, RBI, 3 runs), Josh Guptill (2-for-2, 3 RBI, 2 runs)
Highlights/key moments: The Red Raiders collected 18 hits on their way to a second-straight blowout win. In its last game, Belmont beat Inter-Lakes, 17-1.
Records: Belmont 10-1; Newfound 0-10
Bow 5, Pelham 1
Bow 7, Pelham 2
Key players: Bow – Laura Zbehlik (two wins at No. 1), Nandita Kasiresddy (two wins at No. 2), Casey Day (two wins at No. 3), Claire Mulvaney (two wins at No. 4), Juia Currier (two wins at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons swept a doubleheader at home against Pelham. In an effort to get the most out of the available daylight, the two coaches agreed to end the first match after singles play. In the second match, Zbehlik and Mulvaney teamed for an 8-6 win at first doubles while Currier and Day won 8-3 at third doubles.
Coach’s quote: “It was a long afternoon playing back-to-back matches, but the girls really stayed focused and played well.” – Bow’s Jonsey Rainville
Records: Bow 9-0; Pelham 5-5
Coe-Brown 6, Trinity 3
Key players: Coe-Brown – Tayla George (8-1 win at No. 3), Bailey Docko (9-7 win at No. 4), Jillian Gordon (8-4 win at No. 5)
Highlights/key moments: On Monday, the Bears found themselves tied after singles and then swept doubles to claim the win at home. Coe-Brown’s Holly Roman and Jess Miles won 8-4 at first doubles, Docko and George teamed for an 8-3 win at second doubles, and Camryn Chick and Arianna Gunderson won 8-1 at third doubles.
Coach’s quote: “This was a necessary win to stay in contenetion for making the D-II tournament.” – Coe-Brown’s Mark Struthers
Records: Coe-Brown 6-4; Trinity 2-7
Windham 6, Bishop Brady 3
Key players: Bishop Brady – Sydney Herrington (8-2 win at No. 1), Ravalika Damerla (9-7 win at No. 2)
Highlights/key moments: The top two players earned all the points for the Green Giants in Windham. After winning their singles matches, Herrington and Damerla teamed for an 8-3 win at first doubles.”
Coach’s quote: “Damerla again won a close match against a solid opponent…by being the aggressor at key moments.” – Brady’s Lee Herrington
Records: Bishop Brady 3-6; Windham 6-4
Bow 8, Pelham 1
Key players: Bow – Brayden Binder (8-6 win at No.1), Mike Mullen (8-1 win at No. 2), Evan Alfano (8-0 win at No. 3), Aditya Shah (8-2 win at No. 4), Owen Molind (8-4 win at No. 5)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons swept the five contested singles matches and picked up a forfeit in the sixth. Sam Windsor and Justin Huppe earned an 8-4 win at second doubles for Bow.
Records: Bow 9-1; Pelham 2-9
John Stark 14, Timberlane 10
Key players: John Stark – Danielle Galli (3 goals, assist), Jillian Douzanis (4 goals, assist), Lizzie Brandt (4 goals), Rylee Ledoux (2 goals, 2 assists)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals fell behind 5-2 in the first 10 minutes of the game, but John Stark came back to take an 8-6 halftime lead. Timberlane tied it 9-9, but John Stark took an 11-10 lead and added three insurance goals late in the fourth quarter.
Coach’s quote: “We struggled early with possession and decision making, but improved on draws and ground balls and protected the ball better as the game went on. It was a good ending to a competitive game with Timberlane.” – John Stark’s John Warner
Records: John Stark 5-3; Timberlane 4-5
Trinity 8, Coe-Brown 6
Key players: Coe-Brown – Jacob Switzer (27 saves), Liam Taylor (2 goals, 2 assists), Ben Heyliger (2 goals, assist)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears held it scoreless after the first quarter and trailed just 3-1 at halftime and Switzer was “unbelieveable” in goal, according to his coach, giving the defending-champion Pioneers a run for their money.
Coach’s quote: “Our guys are excited. It’s only our second year of lacrosse and we’re going against the (defending) D-III state champions. (Our guys) want to play the best teams in our (division). It’s great to see little things coming together.” – Ryan Hanavan
Records: Trinity 5-1; Coe-Brown 2-5